Islamabad: Recent audit reports reveal that at least 25 sugar mills belonging to influential people with links to Pakistan’s political leadership have committed loan defaults of over Rs 23 billion with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), reports Profit.
When the audit exposed these defaults, it was found that many of the defaulters have strong links with politicians in government. The sugar industry of Pakistan, one of the country’s most influential industries, is dominated by the influential political parties in the country. Out of 91 sugar mills in the country, the majority of them belong to famous politicians and their families, which justifies the historical relation between sugar lords and the political elites documented in one of the articles in Profit.
It emerged from the documents shared by Profit, courtesy of insiders with knowledge of the matter, that approximately Rs 12 billion of the defaulted portfolio is related to Omni Group’s eight sugar mills owned by Anwar Majid. Majid and his Omni Group found themselves in the headlines of Pakistani newspapers because of their purported connection to former President Asif Ali Zardari and their appearance in a Supreme Court case involving the President.
The Omni Group is not the only major defaulter. It is high time that the major defaulters be named and shamed since they are heavily draining the economy. Let me mention another large defaulter – the Ramadan Sugar Mill, belonging to the Sharif family – with the outstanding amount equaling 2 Rs. 59 billion. Also, Ramzan Sugar Mill has an outstanding amount of Rs 62 crore to the National Bank which the institution cannot disburse, putting the institution in more financial difficulties.
