The Orion Group on Thursday filed a defamation case seeking Tk 500 crore in compensation against the Independent Television over allegations of airing ‘defamatory’ and ‘false’ reports against the company.
The group filed the case with the 4th joint district judge court in Dhaka, said the company’s lawyer Arifur Rahman, adding that the court registered the case and set the date for a hearing on its acceptance on October 10.
The defendants in the case are the Independent TV, its editor-in-chief and CEO M Shamsur Rahman and reporter Abdullah Al Rafi.
On September 13, the TV repeatedly broadcast a ‘misleading’ report alleging that Orion had embezzled funds from the government and laundered money abroad, using political connections in business, and all the while failing to supply electricity from its seven power plants, said the case statement.
Since 2011, Orion has supplied 16.9 billion kilowatt-hour of electricity to the national grid from its six state-of-the-arts, efficient, environment-friendly, and fully operational power plants, underscoring its commitment to the nation’s energy needs, the statement claimed.
It further claimed that the allegations that Orion had misappropriated large sums through loans taken for power plant projects and transferred these funds abroad were also baseless. ‘Orion also categorically denied any involvement in money laundering; all investments and funds remain fully allocated within Bangladesh, with no transfers abroad.’
Due to Independent TV’s ‘false’ report, Orion has suffered significant damage to its reputation and business as it filed the defamation suit seeking Tk 500 crore in damages, it said.
The group also claimed that the accusations involving the ownership of two foreign companies, one from Dubai and the other from China, were also ‘false’.