Will a font error prove to be the downfall of the Sharif dynasty?
The undoing of Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif government might be a Microsoft Word font the PM’s daughter Maryam used while displaying documents she submitted to a team investigating illegal properties, the nation’s media reported.
Maryam Nawaz tweeted denial of wrongdoing, adding that she didn’t own “any company/ property overseas,” except as “a trustee” at a brother’s company, “which only entitles me to distribute assets to my brother Hussain’s family/ children if necessary.”
On page-55 of the investigative team’s final report filed on Monday, it says Maryam’s records had on them sentences typed in the “Calibri” font that was not available before January 31, 2007, said The Express Tribune report. The files themselves were from 2006. Still, the report noted that Wikipedia says the Calibri font was made in 2004. However, it had been made available for use in 2007.
The Mossack Fonseca documents don’t name Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or his younger brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shebaz Sharif. They do link companies and in-laws of Shebaz Sharif and kids of Nawaz Sharif. Mossack Fonseca records tie Nawaz’s daughter Maryam Nawaz along with her brothers Hussein and Hassan to four overseas companies, Nescoll Limited, Nielson Holdings Limited, Coomber Group Inc., and Hangon Property Holdings Limited. Real estate was acquired by the companies throughout 2006 — 2007 in London. The real estate was security for loans of up to $13.8 million based on the Panama Papers. The kids of the Prime Minister say that the money came from the sale of a family business.
An investigation was announced by the government on April 15 by an inquiry commission of Pakistanis. Opposition politicians said not a judge, a judge should research. Numerous judges have recused themselves
Maryam Nawaz tweeted denial of wrongdoing, adding that she didn’t own “any company/ property overseas,” except as “a trustee” at a brother’s company, “which only entitles me to distribute assets to my brother Hussain’s family/ children if necessary.” Both firms subscribed to Mossack Fonseca providers in July 2006. Mossack Fonseca was handling Nescoll, Nielsen Holdings, and Coomber Group when the three firms obtained a 7 million Euro mortgage from the Swiss bank, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA and bought four apartments in Avenfield House, at 118 Park Lane in London. Hassan, another brother, purchased Hangon Holdings and its inventory in 2007 for 5.5 million Euro; Hangon then purchased land, financed through the Bank of Scotland, at 1 Hyde Park Place in London.
Samina Durrani, mother of Ilyas Mehraj, brother of his first, and Shebaz Sharif’s second wife, figure in the records. Habib Waqas Group/ Ilyas Mehraj is recorded with 127,735 stocks in Haylandale Limited, registered from the Bahamas as a shareholder. Armani River Limited, registered in the Bahamas on May 16, 2002, clarifies its assets as “land in London, which isn’t currently rented. We’re also holding 1,165,238 stocks in Orix Leasing Pakistan Limited.”
Hussain Nawaz said his family will not hamper any investigation, and advocated among former president Pervez Musharraf also. An investigation was announced by the government on April 15 by an inquiry commission of Pakistanis. Opposition politicians said not a judge, a judge should research. Numerous judges have recused themselves.
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