In a significant legal development on Monday, an accountability court in Lahore officially sanctioned the termination of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, which implicated former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The decision was delivered by Judge Rana Arif, who ruled in favor of NAB’s petition seeking to halt further inquiry into the matter.
The NAB prosecutor presented arguments highlighting the absence of concrete evidence pointing to corruption or wrongdoing by Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz. After carefully considering the submissions, the court granted final approval to discontinue the probe against these prominent leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), signaling a major step in the ongoing saga surrounding the case.
This investigation originally commenced following a report by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) in January 2018, which flagged billions of rupees in suspicious financial transactions related to Chaudhry Sugar Mills. At that time, the PML-N was the ruling party, adding a layer of political sensitivity to the case. Acting on the FMU’s findings, NAB launched a formal inquiry in October 2018 to scrutinize allegations of money laundering and irregularities under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The probe uncovered that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, and other family members held shares in Chaudhry Sugar Mills, alongside foreign investors from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Investigators found that between 2001 and 2017, substantial investments amounting to billions of rupees were funneled into the company under the guise of issuing shares to these foreign partners. However, the shares were subsequently transferred multiple times back to Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, and Nawaz Sharif without any financial compensation being made to the original foreign shareholders, raising suspicions of illicit financial maneuvering.
Maryam Nawaz’s involvement in the case had previously led to her detention by NAB in August 2019, underscoring the gravity of the allegations and the intensity of the investigation. Her arrest was a notable event, reflecting the anti-corruption agency’s aggressive stance at the time.
Meanwhile, in a related legal development earlier on Monday, NAB filed an appeal with the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging a Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling dated February 4, 2026. The LHC had set conditions on the closure of the inquiry against Maryam Nawaz, requiring judicial approval before NAB could formally end the investigation. NAB contested this decision, arguing that the LHC had overstepped its jurisdiction by interfering with the bureau chairman’s authority, which under the law allows NAB to withdraw investigations prior to filing a reference without needing court sanction.
The bureau further asserted that the LHC’s interpretation of Section 31B(1) of the NAB amendments was flawed, effectively rewriting the legislation by imposing a judicial approval requirement that does not exist in the statutory framework. NAB also criticized the court for proceeding without notifying the attorney general, raising procedural concerns. It was emphasized that NAB had already withdrawn the inquiry on April 3, 2024, and that Maryam Nawaz had subsequently requested the return of her Rs70 million surety bonds posted during the investigation.
This series of judicial and administrative actions highlights the complex interplay between Pakistan’s anti-corruption institutions and the judiciary, especially when cases involve high-profile political figures. The closure of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills probe marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing efforts to address allegations of financial misconduct within the country’s political elite.
