- Judge Mansoor confirms as a lawyer having invested in properties in Dubai.
- He says the property didn't materialize because of the city's housing crisis.
- Judge's tax returns from 2016 show him owning a property worth Rs 2.38 crore.
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said he did not take possession of his property in Dubai because the project did not materialize due to the city's slump in the real estate market. News reported on Saturday.
The development comes after the names of up to 17,000 Pakistanis were made public in “Dubai Unlocked”, a six-month research project with reporters from 74 media outlets in 58 countries, who owned property in the city worth a combined about 11 dollars. billion.
Among the Pakistanis named in the property leaks are President Asif Ali Zardari's three sons, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's wife, Sharjeel Memon and members of their family, Senator Faisal Vawda, Farah Gogi, Sher Afzal Marwat, four MNAs and half a dozen AMPs. of the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.
The data also showed Justice Mansoor's name as owning a property in Maison Residence Collection in the Jabal Ali Downtown area of Dubai.
News, approached the puisne judge to ask if he still owns the property. He was also asked if he still owns the property, whether he uses it or rents it.
Justice Mansoor, in response, admitted having invested in the said property as a lawyer in August 2009, which at that time was not yet built and highlighted that he did not make any additional payment after the initial deposits and some installments as the project did not was completed. .
“The transaction dates back to August 12, 2009 (not sure if this date is correct), i.e. before my elevation to the Lahore High Court. […] As a lawyer, I had invested in an off-plan (not yet built) property in Dubai that had a regular payment plan.
“After the initial deposit and perhaps some installments, Dubai suffered a real estate crisis and the construction project was never completed. Therefore, no further installments were paid and ultimately nothing was purchased. In fact, everything was abandoned and the investment was carried out. It was lost,” the SC judge said.
Revealing that no payment/contribution was made after 2010 upon realizing that the project did not materialize, he highlighted that the amount paid was considered an unrealizable asset.
“As no property was ultimately purchased, the question of rent does not arise,” the judge noted.
His claim, verified by the publication via the Dubai Property Registry website, confirms that the property in question simply does not exist.
Declared in tax returns
Furthermore, Judge Mansoor highlighted that the total contributions made by him in the property have been duly declared in his tax returns, including the 2023 tax year.
“My tax returns are done by AF Ferguson & Co., Lahore and if you wish, I can connect you with them to confirm the above,” the judge's response read.
It may be noted that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor are the only judges who, to ensure transparency in their personal dealings, have made their assets, local or foreign, public.
In July 2017, Justice Mansoor made public his assets, including Dubai properties, when he was Chief Justice of the LHC. The documents, which he made public, show that the judge declared property in Dubai worth Rs 2.38 crore for the 2016 financial year.
