This article is about the Supreme Court of Pakistan case.

 

The Panama Papers case (officially titled Imran Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif) or the Panamagate case was a legal case before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, heard between 1 November 2016 and 23 February 2017. The case was brought to court by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan alleging money laundering, corruption, and contradictory statements by Nawaz Sharif, the incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan, after the Panama Papers leakuncovered links between Sharif's family and eight offshore companies.

The Court reserved its judgment on 23 February 2017.The case has been described as the most publicized in Pakistan's history, as well as a "defining moment" for the country.On 20 April 2017, the court announced the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Sharif family's involvement in corruption as stated in the Panama leaks.

On 28 July 2017, as per results of the investigation, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office in a unanimous verdict.

Panama Papers leak case

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists made 11.5 million secret documents, to be known as the Panama Papers, available to the public on 3 April 2016.The documents, sourced from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, included details of eight offshore companies with links to the family of Nawaz Sharif, the incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan, and his brother Shehbaz Sharif, the incumbent Chief Minister of Punjab.According to the ICIJ, Sharif's children Maryam, Hassan and Hussain “were owners or had the right to authorise transactions for several companies”.Mossack Fonseca records tied the children to four offshore companies, Nescoll Limited, Nielson Holdings Limited, Coomber Group Inc., and Hangon Property Holdings Limited.The companies acquired luxury real estate in London from 2006 to 2007. The real estate was collateral for loans of up to $13.8 million according to the Panama Papers.