Pakistan(National Times)- LONDON: The United Kingdom (UK) government’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has released Hasan Nawaz Sharif from bankruptcy, making him eligible to become a company director again and to do business as normal. According to the UK government records, Hasan’s bankruptcy ended on April 29, 2025. A legal source said: “Hasan Nawaz Sharif’s bankruptcy has ended. The UK tax authority has confirmed that there is nothing illegal or any wrongdoing on Hasan’s part. One is discharged from bankruptcy when nothing illegal is involved.” “Otherwise,” they said, “UK tax authorities can enforce delay if they find non-compliance. Hasan Nawaz is now released from all bankruptcy restrictions and debts. His bankruptcy was only for one year.” Two months ago, the UK HMRC website declared Hasan, son of PML-N President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as a “deliberate tax defaulter” – meaning he chose to become bankrupt and refused to pay a tax amount of nearly £10 million. Hasan filed for bankruptcy after he was asked by the HMRC to pay around £10 million in taxes for the period between April 5, 2015 and April 6, 2016. However, this remained a civil dispute throughout, in the absence of any criminality. The ex-prime minister’s son disputed the tax demand in the case arguing he had paid all the “due taxes” for the same period but the HMRC asked him for more taxes several years later — after the time bar period. He went into litigation against the HMRC. Late last year, the official UK Gazette, which keeps the public record, had published details of the bankruptcy. It said that Hasan, a resident of Flat 17 Avenfield House, 118 Park Lane, and the company director had been declared bankrupt in the High Court Of Justice in case No 694 of 2023; filed on August 25, 2023. The bankruptcy order was issued on April 29, 2024, in a case brought by the creditors over non-payment. The civil case was initiated by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department against Hasan Nawaz, who was represented by Kaur Maxwell. A bankrupt cannot act as a director or be involved in any way in the management of a company until discharged from bankruptcy unless he has obtained permission from the court to continue as a director. Hasan is now eligible to be a director of companies in the UK and has no restrictions whatsoever. A bankruptcy discharge is a court order that releases an individual or business from specific debts and obligations they owe to creditors. In other words, it’s a legal process that eliminates the debtor’s liability to pay certain types of debts they owe before filing the bankruptcy case. Once a bankruptcy discharge is granted, the debtor is no longer legally required to pay back the discharged debts, and creditors are prohibited from attempting to collect on those debts.