In a significant legal development on Monday, an accountability court in Lahore formally approved the closure of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, which involved 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 to discontinue the probe, citing insufficient evidence of corruption against the prominent political figures.
The case had attracted widespread attention since its inception, with the NAB prosecutor presenting arguments that no concrete proof existed to implicate Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz in any corrupt activities related to the sugar mill. After hearing the submissions, the court granted final approval to halt the investigation, marking a crucial moment for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, which has faced numerous legal challenges over the years.
It is worth noting that the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering inquiry began in January 2018, following a report by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) that flagged suspicious financial transactions amounting to billions of rupees under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. At that time, the PML-N was the ruling party in Pakistan, which added a layer of political sensitivity to the case. Subsequently, NAB initiated a formal investigation in October 2018 to scrutinize the allegations.
The probe uncovered that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, and other family members were shareholders in Chaudhry Sugar Mills, alongside foreign investors from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The investigation revealed that between 2001 and 2017, substantial investments were made in the company under the guise of issuing shares to foreign partners. However, these shares were later transferred back to Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, and Nawaz Sharif without any payment being made to the original foreign shareholders, raising suspicions of money laundering.
Maryam Nawaz had also been detained by NAB in August 2019 in connection with this case, highlighting the intensity of the anti-corruption drive at the time. Despite these developments, the court’s recent verdict has brought a conclusion to the long-standing inquiry, much to the relief of the PML-N leadership.
Meanwhile, in a related development earlier on the same day, NAB filed an appeal with the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging a Lahore High Court (LHC) decision dated February 4, 2026, concerning Maryam Nawaz’s role in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. NAB contended that the LHC had overstepped its jurisdiction by making the closure of the inquiry contingent upon judicial approval, thereby interfering with the chairman’s authority.
The bureau argued that it possesses the legal right to withdraw investigations before filing a formal reference, as per the existing laws. NAB further claimed that the LHC misinterpreted Section 31B(1) of the NAB amendments, effectively altering the legislation by imposing a requirement for judicial sanction, which is not stipulated under the law. It was also pointed out that the court proceeded without notifying the attorney general, raising questions about procedural propriety.
NAB, the inquiry into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case was officially withdrawn on April 3, 2024, after which Maryam Nawaz requested the return of her surety bonds amounting to Rs70 million. This latest judicial endorsement of the inquiry’s closure marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing saga surrounding one of Pakistan’s most high-profile corruption investigations.
