Jersey at centre of Pakistani political row

Tuesday 17 May 2016

The Pakistani politician, and cricket legend, Imran Khan is under pressure to explain his links to a Jersey company, following the most recent leaks from the Panama Papers.

Khan is the founder and Chairman of Pakistan's Movement for Justice (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf), and it's alleged he set up a Jersey company Niazi Services Limited in 1983 to avoid paying UK taxes while he was a county cricketer. There is no suggestion of any wrong doing by Mr Khan.

Instead, the growing political row in Pakistan centres on why Mr Khan allegedly said the Jersey company had been dormant for some time, when the leaks from the Panama papers show it was still filing annual returns in Jersey in 2014, and was finally dissolved in October 2015.

Additionally, it's alleged that Imran Khan didn't declare the company on his political nomination papers in 2013, and that he said on oath that he didn't own it. 

Yesterday, Mr Khan was due to rebut the allegations in Pakistan's National Assembly, but the country's media reported that the former cricket star walked out, reportedly because the Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif hadn't already answered questions on the subject. Instead, Prime Minister Sharif told the Assembly: “We are not afraid of anything and present ourselves for accountability."

Last week the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released another set of documents from the Panama Papers, which originally came from the law firm Mossak Fonseca. 

In an article posted on PublicIntegrity.org the ICIJ said: “The Panama Papers investigation revealed the secret offshore dealings of world leaders and other politicians as well as criminals and celebrities.

“Since its release, the Panama Papers investigation has led to high profile resignations, including the prime minister of Iceland; triggered official inquiries in multiple countries; and put pressure on world leaders and other politicians, such as Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, to explain their connections to offshore companies.”

Khan was Pakistan's most successful cricket captain, leading his country to victory at the 1992 Cricket World Cup, and  playing for the team from 1971 to 1992.