The sons and daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reportedly set up at least four offshore companies in British Virgin Islands (BVI), said a report released by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Sunday.These companies owned at least six upmarket properties overlooking London’s Hyde Park, The Indian Express reported.
“Thousands of Mossack Fonseca (MF) documents reviewed by The Indian Express and subsequent enquiries reveal that the Sharif family mortgaged four of these properties to the Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA for a loan of GBP 7 million and the Bank of Scotland part financed the purchase of two other apartments,” it said.Controversy has long engulfed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family, including three of his four children – Mariam, Hasan and Hussain – over their riches from a network of businesses that include steel, sugar and paper mills and extensive international property holdings. At various times, depending on the political party in power, the Sharifs – one of Pakistan’s richest families – have been accused of corruption, ownership of illegal assets, tax avoidance and money laundering. Mariam, Hussain and their father have been detained on such charges, exiled to Saudi Arabia and also acquitted. When allegations first surfaced in 2000, a family member called them "completely wrong," and declared: "This is a very religious family." Hasan, who moved to London over 16 years ago, and Hussain have been running family businesses from abroad. Mariam reportedly is being groomed to take over leadership of her father’s political party.A decade ago, Raymond Baker in his book Capitalism’s Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System alleged that “offshore companies have been linked to Sharif, three in the British Virgin Islands by the names of Nescoll, Nielson, and Shamrock 68 and another in the Channel Islands known as Chandron Jersey Pvt. Ltd. Some of these entities allegedly were used to facilitate purchase of four rather grand flats on Park Lane in London, at various times occupied by Sharif family members”.With his assets growing rapidly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has joined the list of a very few lawmakers who are billionaires, according to statements of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians for the year 2012-13 released by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The net value of assets owned by Mr Sharif rises to Rs1.71 billion from Rs261.6 million he had declared at the time of filing nomination papers for the May elections.
He has put the current value of his six agricultural properties (over 1,700 kanals) in Lahore and Sheikhupura at Rs1.08bn and that of a house in Upper Mall, Lahore, at Rs250m. His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, owns a bungalow on Hall Road in Murree worth Rs100m. She owes Rs1.75m to two individuals.
Prime Minister Sharif owns Abbas and Company, a business venture started with an amount of Rs10,000. The company’s present value is shown as unchanged, but a loan of Rs84,485 is outstanding against it. He possesses shares worth Rs33m in nine industrial units. He has received Rs197.4m remittances from his son Hussain Nawaz.
Mr Sharif owns two Mercedes cars, a Land Cruiser and a tractor. He and his wife have Rs138m in 10 bank accounts.
The other billionaires in the National Assembly are Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and three members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Khial Zaman, Raja Amir Zaman and Sajid Hussain Tori.
Khaqan Abbasi has Rs900m shares in a private airline. The value of his inherited property is Rs100m. He has Rs2m in three bank accounts and Rs500,000 cash in hand.
Sajid Tori owns 10 properties and has described the market value of only one of them as “billions of rupees”.
Khial Zaman has put the value of his assets at Rs2.35bn. He owns four properties abroad worth Rs1.2bn.Amir Zaman owns nine properties amounting to Rs1.88bn. He owns a plaza in F-8 Islamabad worth Rs800m, a house in F-7 Islamabad (Rs600m), shops and flats in Rawalpindi (Rs350m) and shops in G-9 Islamabad (Rs120m).
BNP-Awami chief Mir Israrullah Zehri owns over 51,000 acres of land. He also owns bungalows in Karachi and Quetta and has Rs1m in his bank account.
Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao owns assets worth little over Rs53m, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Rs7.3m, Farooq Sattar of the MQM Rs3.6m, PML-Z chief Ejazul Haq Rs10m and Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F Rs395m.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai has agricultural income of Rs20m a year. He has two bullet-proof cars and four rifles.
Retired Captain Safdar, son-in-law of Prime Minister Sharif, has also mentioned in his assets a BMW car gifted to his wife by someone in the UAE.
