During the anti-corruption crackdown by the caretaker government following the 1/11 political change in 2007, Orion Group Chairman Obaidul Karim, who had multiple complaints against him, went into hiding to evade arrest.
However, in a written confession to a special agency during this period, he had requested a reasonable amount of time to repay the misappropriated funds.
In a 36-page petition, he confessed to embezzling Tk600 crore from Oriental Bank. He admitted to misappropriating at least Tk304.5 crore during his tenure as the bank’s chairman in 2005 and 2006.
Of this amount, he siphoned off Tk232.7 crore and directed Tk 72.13 crore towards institutional channels. Obaidul Karim further implicated his brother, former MP Ebadul Karim, and the then-Managing Director of the bank, Qayes Sami, among others, for their roles in the remaining embezzlement.
He indirectly admitted responsibility for the Tk 600 crore embezzlement, stating, "If given your cooperation and if Orion Group becomes the owner of this bank in the future, the company will take on the responsibility of recovering all the funds as a third-party guarantor, which I will accept as a personal guarantee."
In the second page of his letter addressed to a senior official of the special agency, Obaidul Karim wrote, "In light of the political shift on January 11, 2007, I make an earnest appeal to the current government through you to resolve this complex banking issue as a last resort. I believe that only you can bring about a just and genuine solution during such a national crisis, even though the government is tirelessly working to resolve many other significant national problems. Nevertheless, restoring order to the country's vital financial sector by resolving Oriental Bank's issue is crucial, and I believe your direct intervention is necessary."
On the fourth page of the petition, Karim said, "In the Bangladesh Bank audit report dated 6 June 2006, I was held accountable for Tk92 crore, including interest and principal (with the principal amount being Tk64 crore), withdrawn from a benami account under my name. Although this liability was not mine, I assumed responsibility for it. I took on this responsibility in exchange for Tk20 crore worth of shares that Qayes Sami illegally held. I believed that since we were implementing the country's largest private sector power plant and flyover with our own funds, it would impact the share market, increase the value of Orion Group's shares, boost business growth, and allow me to recover the Tk64 crore loss."
"A liability of Tk51.27 crore was shown in the Principal Branch of Oriental Bank, which occurred before we assumed ownership of the bank. Additionally, there is a Tk28.21 crore liability associated with the bank’s director, Ebadul Karim. This liability is by no means mine. Ebadul Karim is prepared to settle this liability. On the eighth page, a table shows that 11 companies were responsible for a Tk56 crore liability at the bank’s Principal Branch, of which the then-managing director, Qayes Sami, disbursed Tk28 crore. If Orion Group becomes the bank's owner in the future, it will take responsibility as a third-party guarantor to recover this amount," on the seventh page of the letter Obaidul Karim said.
On the tenth page, Obaidul Karim stated, "I am indeed responsible for the non-funded Tk6.7 crore liability at the bank’s Principal Branch. Discussions are ongoing with the bank, and funds are being deposited as margin against the guarantee."
Thus, Obaidul Karim directly admitted to embezzling Tk304 crore out of the Tk600 crore from the bank and indirectly accepted responsibility for the remainder, while also implicating other bank officials.
Meanwhile, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment for misappropriating Tk6.7 crore in non-funded liability from the bank's principal branch.
Reports suggest that he has resorted to various manoeuvres to evade this sentence.
