The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and sought its reply on a petition filed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, seeking the refund of Rs70 million deposited as a guarantee in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
A three-member full bench, headed by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and comprising Justice Jawad Zafar and Justice Abhar Gul Khan, heard the petition on Thursday.
During the proceedings, NAB’s counsel informed the court that the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case had already been closed by NAB and declared baseless. In response, the Chief Justice questioned whether the case had also been formally concluded by the relevant trial court.
NAB’s lawyer argued that, under the law, approval from the trial court was not required after NAB’s decision. However, CJ Aalia Neelum observed that final approval from the concerned trial court was still necessary, even if NAB had closed the case.
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The court has directed NAB to submit a detailed reply by February 4.
In her petition, filed through legal counsel, Maryam Nawaz contended that since NAB had terminated the case and declared it unfounded, the Rs70 million guarantee amount should be returned to her.
The case originated in January 2018, following information about suspicious financial transactions involving billions of rupees at Chaudhry Sugar Mills under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. NAB initiated an inquiry and, in October 2018, found that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif, and other members of the late Abbas Sharif’s family were shareholders in the company, along with foreign nationals from the UAE and the UK.
According to NAB’s inquiry, billions of rupees were invested in Chaudhry Sugar Mills between 2001 and 2017 in the names of foreign shareholders through the issuance of millions of shares. It was alleged that these shares were later transferred back to Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, and Nawaz Sharif without any consideration, leading investigators to suspect that foreigners were used as proxies for investments due to the Sharif family’s alleged lack of declared funds.
The matter remains pending, with the court awaiting NAB’s response.
