Nawaz Sharif's UK properties worth £32 million: report

LONDON: Amid stern criticism directed at the Sharif family for stashing a huge amount of wealth overseas, a new report has revealed that the total value of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family’s London-owned properties is estimated at 32 million pounds.

According to the report published in the Daily Mail, Avenfield House, which has been Sharif’s residence since 1993, was allegedly built after demolishing four high-end flats.

As per the report, Sharif and his family also purchased over 20 properties above the Avenfield flats itself.

It further claimed that Sharif’s Hyde Park home was sold for a whopping 43 million pounds, after the property was sold by his son, Hassan.

However, the report noted that the profits made from the sale were not disclosed in court.
And the former PM has refuted all these claims.

Apart from the Avenfield flats case, the Sharif family, including his sons Hasan and Hussain, daughter Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are facing multiple corruption references in the accountability court.

The reports states that the Sharifs have for years moved their money in and out of Britain, Switzerland, the Middle East and the British Virgin Islands.

Rachel Davies Teka, of global anti-corruption group Transparency International, said that this is not just a tale of dirty politics and allegedly dirtier money in a foreign land, but money laundering has a devastating impact on the UK capital as well.

‘The flow of dirty money into the property market contributes to the wider issues of empty homes, and the distortion of developer priorities away from affordable housing and towards luxury properties,’ he said.

‘We have identified UK property worth £4.4 billion that has been bought by those representing a high money laundering risk. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.’

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 28 last year, had disqualified Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister and asked the National Accountability Bureau to file references against the Sharif family in connection with corruption cases against them.