LAHORE (Staff Report) – A sitting judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan has responded to allegations of graft leveled against him after he was named in the Panama Papers released earlier this year for having a number of offshore companies registered in his name.
According to a press release issued by his office today (Saturday), Mr. Farrukh Irfan Khan divested himself of all business interests and shareholdings in favor of his daughter before his elevation as an LHC judge.
The release further stated that Mr. Khan earned an “impeccable reputation” as an intellectual property lawyer, both in Pakistan and abroad, before his elevation as a High Court judge in Lahore.
It also explains that Mr. Khan had legally registered a number of offshore companies in his name between 2001 and 2004 to use the earnings from his international intellectual property law practice for investment abroad.
Mr. Khan has never transferred any of his earnings from Pakistan abroad, according to the press release. Rather, he has routinely transferred the earnings of his international law practice into Pakistan.
The sitting judge’s initial silence on the Panama Papers had been misconstrued and was being used to orchestrate a campaign to “malign” him and the judiciary, the press release contended.
