Critical analysis of the laws to prevent the misuse of shell companies in Pakistan: An appraisal.

Abstract

After the Panama papers scams, shell and offshore companies become a boiling issue in developing countries like Pakistan. Panama papers identified mostly those people who have illegal gains through the public office, which shows that these offshore companies were established to protect the black money. On the other hand, shell companies are usually used for tax evasion, which is also a financial loss for the developing countries because the government is functioning through the tax gains. For instance, the researcher has established this fact in this dissertation, Pakistan is one of the states who is facing this sort of issue concerning shell companies and offshore companies. Therefore, these issues are discussed in the different chapters about Pakistan and globally. The Pakistani legal framework including enforcement and investigation agencies are working to cope with these mal practices of tax evasion and money laundering to those countries where the black money obtained by the public office holders can protect like in the Panama case. The NAB, FIA, and FBR have taken initiatives to identify the person who is involved in these malpractices, which would be very beneficial for the financial position of the countries. Furthermore, the Pakistani judiciary is performing a pivotal role in restraining these mal-practice under their jurisdiction. As the Supreme Court had to constitute a joint investigation team to scrutinizing and collection of material facts through investigation in the case of former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. However, there is still a need for improvement in institutional development to cope with these issues of financial crimes in Pakistan and also get rid of the grey list of FATF sanctions. For this research, the qualitative methodology has been adopted and most of this research is relayed on the secondary (library data), books, articles, journals, reports, newspapers, and so on. However, primary data is also used in this research as reported case laws and statutes related to the objectives of this research. Analytical and critical analysis has been made through available data to answer the research questions and for the achievement of the objectives of this research. At last, according to the research orientation the conclusion has been made in the best interest and few recommendations to improve the institutions and financial progress of the state.