Orion Infrastructure Limited, a concern of Orion Group, has become a loan defaulter after failing to repay Tk 106 crore in bridge financing for the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover project, according to a recent Bangladesh Bank inspection report.
The central bank鈥檚 review of Sonali Bank鈥檚 annual financing report for 2023, conducted in July 2024, revealed that the company had not met its repayment obligations.
Consequently, the central bank directed Sonali Bank to classify the outstanding amount as bad loans and update the Credit Information Bureau data accordingly.
This development has led to the identification of Orion Infrastructure Limited鈥檚 board members, including chairman Mohammad Obaidul Karim, as loan defaulters.
The report shows that the outstanding loans provided in bridge financing to Orion Infrastructure Limited for the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover project under聽 a public-private partnership has reached Tk 106 crore as of December 31, 2023.
With four installments overdue as of December 2024, the loans should have been classified as bad loans.
Although the loans were initially kept unclassified based on the company鈥檚 commitment to settle the overdue payments by May 2024, only Tk 2 crore was paid in July, and 15 cheques totaling Tk 15.28 crore were issued, which were not honoured.
Given the continued non-payment and the fact that five installments (equivalent to 30 months) are overdue, the central bank has instructed Sonali Bank to classify the entire loan amount as bad loans.
Obaidul Karim, who is also the founder and chairman of Orion Group, has a history of receiving a prison sentence for corruption and embezzlement.
A number of Bangladesh Bank officials and bankers said that former Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Obaidul Karim was significantly benefitted from the immediate past Awami League government through his connection with its leaders, including Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, though the claim remain unverified.
He had close relation with former central bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder who was known to intervene in inspections and reporting related to Karim, central bank officials said.
Obaidul Karim did not respond to phone calls and messages for comments over the issues.
The Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover, which was constructed at a cost of Tk 2,108 crore, was financed entirely through bank loans.
Although Orion group barely invested in the project, it continued getting benefits from it.
Six banks and investment institutions contributed a total of Tk 2,250 crore for the project鈥擲onali Bank (Tk 500 crore), Rupali Bank (Tk 550 crore), Janata Bank (Tk 600 crore), Agrani Bank (Tk 500 crore), Social Islami Bank and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) each contributing Tk 50 crore.
Despite generating toll revenue since its inauguration in 2013, the banks had not received dividends from their investments, the banks claimed.
Additionally, the company secured a 15-year income tax exemption on the flyover鈥檚 earnings, citing its bank loans.
