UPDATE 2:PM EST 5/9/2016: SCROLL BELOW TO SEE FULL UPDATED LIST OF PAKISTANIS IN PANAMA PAPERS.
A number of important Pakistanis have been indicted in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) investigation into offshore companies.
In total the journalists received 11.5 million documents in a leak from Panama-based law firm Mossack & Fonseca. A huge number of Pakistanis feature on those lists, and we bring you a round up of the most prominent names.
So far 220 Pakistanis are featured in the list, although the ICIJ says that it will be revealing more files in May.
Pakistani Politicians in Panama Leaks:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is linked to 9 companies connected to his family name. Those involved are:
While owning an offshore company isn’t illegal in itself, the practice is commonly linked to tax evasion and fraud. The law firm involved in the leak has clients from around the world, including people linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and football star Lionel Messi.
The documents reveal how world figures use a series of shell companies to obscure the trail of their money and avoid paying national taxes. The techniques are also linked to money laundering for drug smugglers and other criminal groups.
In India a huge number of celebrities, businessmen and politicians have also been caught up in the scandal. It is thought that many public figures have used the shell companies in order to avoid paying taxes.
Nations around the world lose billions of dollars in tax revenue due to the existence of tax havens such as Panama. There have been growing calls to clampdown on the practice and a video of U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has surfaced in which he criticizes the signing of a free trade agreement with Panama.
He says that the agreement facilitates this kind of behavior, which costs the taxpayer millions. In a country like Pakistan where so much money needs to be invested in infrastructure and other programs in order to alleviate poverty, it is a scandal that so many people are effectively stealing money from their countrymen.
While it should come as no surprise that rich people try to hold on to their money, the leaks provide hope that the flagrant tax dodging could come to an end.
UPDATE 5/9/2016 1:PM ET: (NEW LIST OF PAKISTANIS NAMED IN PANAMA PAPERS LEAK)
Here are the key people named in the new list:
UPDATE 5-9-2016 2:15 PM ET: Below is the full list of people from Pakistan (259 in total)
A number of important Pakistanis have been indicted in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) investigation into offshore companies.
In total the journalists received 11.5 million documents in a leak from Panama-based law firm Mossack & Fonseca. A huge number of Pakistanis feature on those lists, and we bring you a round up of the most prominent names.
So far 220 Pakistanis are featured in the list, although the ICIJ says that it will be revealing more files in May.
Pakistani Politicians in Panama Leaks:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is linked to 9 companies connected to his family name. Those involved are:
- Hassan Nawaz
- Hussain Nawaz
- Maryam Nawaz
- Samina Durrani
- Ilyas Mehraj
- Nephew Hassan Ali Jaffery
- Javed Pasha, Close friend of Asif Ali Zardari (4 companies)
- PPP Senator Rehman Malik (1 company)
- PPP Senator Osman Saifullah’s family (34 companies)
- Anwar Saifullah
- Salim Saifullah
- Humayun Saifullah
- Iqbal Saifullah
- Javed Saifullah
- Jehangir Saifullah
- The Chaudharies of Gujrat have not been linked personally but other relatives have including:
- Waseem Gulzar
- Zain Sukhera (co-accused with former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s son in the Hajj scandal)
- Real Estate Czar Malik Riaz Hussain’s son (Bahria Town)
- Ahmad Ali Riaz (1 company)
- Chairman ABM Group of Companies Azam Sultan (5 companies)
- Pizza Hut owner Aqeel Hussain and family (1 company)
- Brother Tanwir Hassan
- Chairman Soorty Enterprise Abdul Rashid Soorty and family
- Sultan Ali Allana, Chairman of Habib Bank Limited (1 company)
- Khawaja Iqbal Hassan, former NIB bank President (1 company)
- Bashir Ahmed and Javed Shakoor of Buxly Paints (1 company)
- Mehmood Ahmed of Berger Paints (1 company)
- Hotel tycoon Sadruddin Hashwani and family (3 companies)
- Murtaza Haswani
- Owner of Hilton Pharma, Shehbaz Yasin Malik and family (1 company)
- The Hussain Dawood family (2 companies)
- Shahzada Dawood
- Abdul Samad Dawood
- Partner Saad Raja
- The Abdullah family of Sapphire Textiles (5 companies)
- Yousuf Abdullah and his wife
- Muhammad Abdullah and his wife
- Shahid Abdullah and his family
- Nadeem Abdullah and family
- Amer Abdullah and family
- Gul Muhammad Tabba of Lucky Textiles
- Shahid Nazir, CEO of Masood Textile Mills (1 company)
- Partner Naziya Nazir
- Zulfiqar Ali Lakhani, from Lakson Group and owner of Colgate-Palmolive, Tetley Clover and Clover Pakistan (1 company)
- Zulfiqar Paracha and family of Universal Corporation (1 company)
- Serving Lahore High Court Judge Justice Farrukh Irfan
- Retired Judge Malik Qayyum
- Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman of GEO and Jang Group (1 company)
NAB could investigate Pakistanis listed in Panama Papers
According to reports the the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan has started an inquiry into the involvement of Pakistanis in the ownership of offshore companies. A full investigation may still happen after a discussion between top NAB officials.While owning an offshore company isn’t illegal in itself, the practice is commonly linked to tax evasion and fraud. The law firm involved in the leak has clients from around the world, including people linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and football star Lionel Messi.
The documents reveal how world figures use a series of shell companies to obscure the trail of their money and avoid paying national taxes. The techniques are also linked to money laundering for drug smugglers and other criminal groups.
Effects already being felt
The fallout from the scandal has the potential to reverberate around the world. The prime minister of Iceland was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had not disclosed the fact that he and his wife owned an offshore company.In India a huge number of celebrities, businessmen and politicians have also been caught up in the scandal. It is thought that many public figures have used the shell companies in order to avoid paying taxes.
Nations around the world lose billions of dollars in tax revenue due to the existence of tax havens such as Panama. There have been growing calls to clampdown on the practice and a video of U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has surfaced in which he criticizes the signing of a free trade agreement with Panama.
He says that the agreement facilitates this kind of behavior, which costs the taxpayer millions. In a country like Pakistan where so much money needs to be invested in infrastructure and other programs in order to alleviate poverty, it is a scandal that so many people are effectively stealing money from their countrymen.
While it should come as no surprise that rich people try to hold on to their money, the leaks provide hope that the flagrant tax dodging could come to an end.
UPDATE 5/9/2016 1:PM ET: (NEW LIST OF PAKISTANIS NAMED IN PANAMA PAPERS LEAK)
Here are the key people named in the new list:
- Zulfikar Abbas Bokhari: A close aide of Imran Khan. Bokhari owns six offshore companies along with his two sisters. He was smart enough not to give his Pakistani address while incorporating any of the six companies. But one of his sisters had given the address of Islamabad. Zulfi Bokhari’s father was a minister in the interim government in 2008.
- Wamiq Zuberi & Rukhsana Zuberi: Zuberi of Business Recorder and his wife Rukhsana Zuberi (former PPP senator) have also invested in an offshore entity. Wamiq acknowledged that the company was owned by an unnamed person who was killed in Islamabad. The couple stopped investing after they were defrauded.
- Irfan Iqbal Puri: He has strong ties with Altaf Hussain and Asif Ali Zardari. Puri is the owner of three offshore entities named in the Panama Papers. At one point, he had claimed that he was the business partner of Zardari. He had also reportedly submitted surety bonds of one million pounds for the MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s bail.
- Naseer Khan: Naseer is the former health minister in Shaukat Aziz government. He along with his son Muhammad Jibran and his brother Zaffarullah Khan owns Atwood Investments Limited.
- Abdul Sattar Dero: The NRO beneficiary and former MD Port Qasim Authority owns two offshore companies: Destiny Investment Development Limited and Simkins International Limited. Abdul Sattar Dero has close ties with the Zardari family.
- Saba Obaid: She is the mother of Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Saba Obaid owns three offshore companies: Belize Group, Bella Holding Group, and Fabrics International Services Limited. Documents indicate that Fabrics International was established to “receive commission from a toweling/fabric factory in Pakistan.” Notably, Saba Obaid owns a Karachi-based textiles company called Towellers Limited.
- Mehreen Akbar: The wife of Ghous Akbar owns shares in four offshore companies: Mark Investment Limited, IMM Gulf Limited, Indigo Properties Limited and Zarmay Investments Ltd. All the four companies are based in Seychelles. Mehreen’s sisters Mahim and Irum are also shareholders in these entities. Ghous Akbar told media that he had nothing to do with any of these companies.
- Valliani family: Fawaz Valliani, his sister Zehra Valliani and their mother Sameena Valliani have been linked with four companies: Emirates Commerce Limited, Ikogenia Trust, European American Investments Limited, and Polenta Capital. Zehra told media that her brother Fawaz might have formed these entities without her and her mother’s consent.
- Munir Monnoo: The chief of Olympia International along with his son Humayun has set up a company called Clifton Holdings Services Incorporated. Documents suggest that the company’s nature of business is to open accounts in Swiss banks.
- Shaukat Ahmed: The former president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce has been identified as the owner of Seychelles-based Global Link Properties. Other shareholders of the company include Shaukat’s son Imran Shaukat and daughter-in-law. Imran Shaukat is also one of the beneficiary shareholders of Emirates International Holdings Ltd.
- Sajid Mahmood: He is the son of Seth Abid Ali of Lahore. Sajid is the owner of Mossgreen Limited, which is based in the British Virgin Islands. Other shareholders include Ajaz Mahmood, Bushra Azad, and Akbar Mahmood. The family runs more than a dozen companies in Pakistan.
- Tariq Islam: A cousin of former PM Benazir Bhutto, Islam is the owner of Link Investments Limited.
UPDATE 5-9-2016 2:15 PM ET: Below is the full list of people from Pakistan (259 in total)
