Guide
I put money into a business in Pakistan
and my partner says it is his
It starts as trust. Money is sent from abroad to a brother, a cousin, a friend, to run a shop, a farm, a transport business. Years later the books are closed to you, the profits stop, and the business is in the partner’s name. This page shows what your position is, what can still be shown, and what an advocate does.
Where this applies This page covers a business in Pakistan funded from abroad by someone who is not on the ground. Where the business is a registered company, the rules for shareholders apply as well; see the page on a court case for the company.
What this is about
Your position depends on what the arrangement was and what can be shown. A written partnership is a contract, and a partner can be made to account. A registered company has shareholders, and a shareholder has rights the law spells out. An arrangement with nothing written is the hardest, but money sent from abroad leaves a trail, and the trail is where the case starts.
What an advocate looks for first is the record: is the business registered anywhere, in whose name, and what do the bank records show going in. From that comes the choice between a demand for accounts, a case to dissolve the partnership and divide what is left, and a criminal complaint where money was simply taken.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
What the arrangement was: a partnership, a company, or a spoken understanding.
What you sent, when, and to which account.
What the business owns now, and in whose name.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers an advocate asks for.
- The partnership deed or the company papers, if there are any.
- Bank records of every transfer.
- Messages and letters about the business, and any accounts you were ever shown.
- The registrations the business holds: tax, trade licence, premises.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does from Pakistan.
- Tells you honestly which route your papers support.
- Demands accounts, and where they are refused, asks a court to order them.
- Files to dissolve the partnership and divide the assets, and asks for a stay on any sale while it runs.
- Files a criminal complaint where money was taken rather than lost.
What to ask before you agree
- Which route do my papers support: accounts, dissolution, or a criminal complaint?
- Can a sale of the business’s assets be stopped while the case runs?
- Is the business registered anywhere, and in whose name?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Disputes
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- partnership
- A business run by two or more people under an agreement.
- accounts
- The books of the business, which a partner can be ordered to produce.
- dissolution
- Ending the partnership and dividing what it owns.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.