The PM has a son and his business is booming

ISLAMABAD: There has been a significant increase in the overseas business of Suleman Shehbaz, the son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Hum Investigation Team (HIT) has traced the details of overseas businesses of Suleman. The companies that were started initially for Rs80 million but their volume grew rapidly and gradually in the past two years, suggested the documents.

HIT has obtained documents of Suleman’s businesses from the UK Companies House – which maintains the register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for incorporating all forms of companies in the United Kingdom.

As per the documents, the overseas business volume of Suleman Shehbaz and his partners currently stands at Rs700 million and their business has seen an increase of Rs650 million in the last year.

The documents further reveal that Suleman Shehbaz has jointly formed ten companies in the UK with his partners, with a total business volume of 2 million pounds.

Suleman Shehbaz has confirmed establishing these companies independently and some of them with the help of British and Pakistani nationals in the UK.

This marks the first-ever overseas business venture initiated by any family member of Shehbaz Sharif. Before this, two former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s sons (Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz) were engaged in managing various enterprises in the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Ali Dar, the son of Ishaq Dar and also the son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif, was conducting his business activities in the central hub of Dubai, UAE.

Details of the companies: 

The ten companies where Suleman Shehbaz invested mostly deal with hoteling, beverages, coffees, real estate, burgers, pizzas, cookies, buns and commodities.

According to the documents, Suleman Shehbaz was appointed as a director of Omar Retail Limited in June of the previous year. The total turnover of this company is more than 1.367 million pounds.

According to the UK Companies House documents, the shareholders’ funds amount to 3.19 million pounds.

HIT has also obtained the details of two other companies in his name, BS British Dran and HSS PROPERTY HOLDINGS LTD.

On September 19, 2019, Suleman Shehbaz initiated his journey as a director by establishing his inaugural company, named HSS Ventures Ltd., in London.

The head of HIT, Zahid Ghoskori reached out to Suleman Shehbaz about his growing businesses to which he said that he is a businessperson residing in the UK and holds the right to conduct any legal business in the country.

“With all due respect,t I don’t wish to answer any of the above queries,” Suleman responded, choosing not to respond to questions about his business, source of funding and allegations and claims made by investigators.

He categorically refused to respond to other inquiries presented by HIT, citing his lack of knowledge about those specific questions. “I have never been subjected to any investigations by British authorities concerning my business,” he confidently added.

He clarified that his bank accounts were merely temporarily frozen by the authorities but were later released without any ongoing restrictions.

“They just froze my accounts and lifted the order unilaterally in my favour after 18 months of investigation,” he added.

Details of a few other companies

AME CAFE BIRMINGHAM LTD:

Documents have revealed that another company, known as AME Cafe Birmingham Ltd, boasts a business size of 243,000 pounds. Suleman initially took up a directorship role in this company in 2020; however, he subsequently stepped down from his position.

Professional Buns Ltd:

The company was incorporated on 17 June 2020 and is still active.

Phat Buns Birmingham:

According to the disclosed documents, Suleman was also the proprietor of Phat Buns Birmingham for a duration of two years. The company held a business value of 230,000 British Pounds, and the documents indicate the involvement of another individual as a partner within the company. However, he resigned from the company position on June 2, 2023.

As per the most recent financial statement of Phat Buns, which is in possession of HIT, the company’s balance sheet revealed fixed assets amounting to 166,869 UK Pounds.

Central Retail Ltd:

Another enterprise emerged with the name Central Retail Ltd. This company was collaboratively established by Zulfiqar Ali and Suleman Shehbaz on October 28, 2020. Hailing from Stirling, United Kingdom, the company operates as a private limited entity and is officially registered under the number SC-679002.

What did Pakistani tax and FIA authorities have to say?

Pakistani tax authorities informed the HIT that Suleman Shehbaz Sharif did not disclose his UK-based business in the financial year 2020-21.

“He has been living overseas since 2018, and according to the law, he may not have been obligated to disclose his international business ventures,” a senior official from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stated.

Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have obtained information about an account labelled “A/C No. 40****3 (Suleman Shehbaz) Barclays Bank, UK,” which they believe holds considerable wealth. In his interviews, Suleman Shehbaz clearly asserted that, ever since he departed for London in 2018, his family did not possess any foreign business ventures.

During the previous administration, both the FIA and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were investigating the background of this foreign investment. They were looking into how Suleman Shahbaz and his associates allegedly received 111 counterfeit foreign remittances totalling Rs804 million.

Further investigation revealed that Suleman Shehbaz had also received Rs84 million in his Silk Bank account, and he obtained fake foreign remittances worth Rs648 million with the assistance of Muhammad Mushtaq, Yasir Mushtaq, and Tahir Naqvi.

However, Suleman Shehbaz has since managed to clear his name from various money laundering and accountability court cases. The recent legal proceedings have demonstrated that the allegations against him and his family were unfounded in the eyes of the law.

In relation to unexplained assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, FIA and NAB officials had asserted that Suleman Shehbaz held assets totalling Rs2.2 billion, which included Rs95 million derived from agricultural land spanning 391 kanals and 12 marlas situated in Mauza Dorahtta and Tehsil Bhowana Chiniot.

Suleman Shehbaz’s movable assets comprised Rs10,000 each in Sharif Malik Products Pvt. Ltd and Madni Trading Pvt. Ltd., Rs10 million in Sharif Feed Mills Pvt. Ltd., Rs1,000 each in Madina Construction Company Pvt. Ltd. and Sharif Poultry Farms Pvt. Ltd., Rs10 million in Sharif Dairy Farms Pvt. Ltd., Rs4 million in Ramzan Energy Pvt. Ltd., Rs2 million in Crystal Plastic Pvt. Ltd., Rs171 million in Chiniot Power Ltd., Rs51,000 in AG Energy Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Rs155,000 in Al-Arabia Sugar Mills Ltd., and Rs175,000 in Unit as Power Ltd.