The Panama Papers, millions of confidential documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca in April 2016, revealed the Sharif family had assets worth millions in Britain and many other countries – including the Avenfield flats.The Daily Mail’s recent article (23 June) writes: ‘ Penthouse pirates: How the mega-rich former prime minister of Pakistan and his sons have ploughed millions into London's swankiest addresses to amass a vast property empire•Avenfield House is where Pakistan's super-rich former PM, Nawaz Sharif, has lived when in London, since 1993•He knocked four luxury flats together to make a single mansion, now worth at least £7million•Sharif shares it with his two sons, his daughter and political heir-apparent Maryam and her husband’Further, the paper mentions: The family are also accused of using dirty money to buy at least 21 UK properties on top of the Avenfield flats, most at equally grand Central London locations, in Mayfair, Chelsea and Belgravia. The total value of the properties is estimated at at least £32 million.’ All the Sharifs added hugely to their wealth during periods when Nawaz was prime minister.’Sharif family has for years moved its money in and out of UK, Switzerland, the Middle East and the British Virgin Islands in order to conceal its dirty wealth. The properties are registered via a bewildering network of companies, trusts and bank accounts. ‘The flow of dirty money into the property market contributes to the wider issues of empty homes, and the distortion of developer priorities away from affordable housing and towards luxury properties,’ said Rachel Davies Teka, of global anti-corruption group Transparency International.Imran Khan has been raising the issue of the Avenfield flats since 1998, just after he first entered politics. He did a protest then outside those flats, saying these belong to Nawaz Sharif, and they were money laundered. Interviewed by the MoS at his hilltop estate near Islamabad, Khan said: ‘But you in Britain have to play your part. Corruption and money laundering that transfers wealth from poor countries to rich causes poverty and death. We have massive unemployment, 25 million children out of school and one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. I guess money laundering is making it more expensive for Londoners to buy houses. For us, the consequences are unethical, immoral, disastrous.’The web of the Sharifs’ British real estate portfolio has evidently been woven with the fabric of national exchequer by the three -time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. The stark disparity between the family’s wealth and any known legitimate means of profit reflects the corruption of the Sharifs, who have failed to provide the real origin of the funds. These funds would have been used for poverty alleviation, education, healthcare and other national developmental tasks.
The verdict of the court on his corruption case is coming tomorrow on 6 July, which will hopefully a verdict of the mega-poor people of Pakistan.