An accountability court in Lahore has officially approved the closure of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case involving former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The decision was announced by Judge Rana Arif, accepting NAB’s petition to halt the proceedings. NAB’s prosecutor stated that there was insufficient evidence of corruption against the two leaders. This approval formally discontinues the probe against prominent figures of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The investigation, initiated in October 2018 following an FMU report, had examined financial dealings within Chaudhry Sugar Mills. The probe indicated that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, and other family members were shareholders, alongside foreign investors from the UAE and the UK. Allegations centered on billions of rupees in investments made between 2001 and 2017, purportedly under the guise of issuing shares to foreign partners. Subsequently, these shares were reportedly transferred multiple times to Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, and Nawaz Sharif without any payment to the original foreign shareholders. Maryam Nawaz had previously been taken into custody in August 2019 in relation to this case.

In a related development, NAB had appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court against a Lahore High Court decision concerning CM Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. NAB argued that the LHC had overstepped its authority by making the closure of the inquiry conditional on judicial approval, asserting its own legal right to withdraw proceedings before filing a reference. The bureau also claimed the LHC misinterpreted relevant legal amendments, effectively altering the law by imposing a requirement for judicial approval that is not stipulated. NAB confirmed the inquiry was withdrawn on April 3, 2024, after which Maryam Nawaz sought the return of her surety bonds.