Court rulings reshape battle for control of TRG

ISLAMABAD: A prolonged corporate dispute surrounding The Resource Group has culminated in court rulings in Pakistan that, according to a Dawn analysis, cleared the way for founder Zia Chishti to regain control after years of litigation over company funds, board decisions and shareholder rights.

The report traces the origins of the dispute to Chishti’s business career before TRG. It says he first made his fortune through clear plastic braces marketed as Invisalign after founding what became Align Technology in 1997 while studying at Stanford University. The company’s valuation reached $1 billion by 2001, after which he exited and later turned to private equity.

In 2003, he set up The Resource Group Pakistan, or TRGP, and became its founding chief executive. At the same time, he also established TRG International Limited, or TRGIL, with a structure in which the boards of the two companies overlapped. TRGP initially focused on call centre services. The report says Chishti later moved into artificial intelligence and founded Washington-based Afiniti in 2005, which owned software he had developed. Afiniti was half-owned by TRGP and, by 2017, had reached a valuation of $1.7bn.

Dispute over sale proceeds

The conflict intensified after allegations of violent sexual misconduct against Chishti by an Afiniti employee emerged publicly in 2021, damaging his reputation and leading him to resign from several boards, including positions linked to TRG.

The report says one of TRGI’s major cash holdings came from the sale of e-TeleQuote, which generated about $175 million. Since TRG Pakistan held 69 per cent of TRGI, its proportional share was due to it. The article says Chishti had decided that these funds should be distributed to TRG shareholders through redemption, including himself, in an amount of around $120m. However, the board members who remained after his departure disagreed and decided the funds would not be repatriated.

It further says there were six common directors on the boards of TRGP and TRGI at the time, and that these directors decided TRGP would not accept the redemption offer from TRGI. At the same time, the same individuals accepted redemption offers in their personal capacities as shareholders when those were made available to them.

Greentree and legal challenges

The report says the boards then adopted what it described as a third option by placing TRGP’s share of the e-TeleQuote sale proceeds into a special purpose vehicle called Greentree Holdings, which was authorised to invest money belonging to TRGP. It says Greentree then used TRGP funds to purchase shares, triggering a wave of litigation involving allegations including insider trading, shareholder abuse, beneficial interests and third-party speculation.

The period from 2022 onward saw multiple lawsuits and procedural delays, while no general meetings or fresh director elections were held. It adds that Chishti alleges this period erased $2bn from TRG’s market value.

Sindh High Court and Supreme Court orders

The matter eventually reached the Sindh High Court, where Justice Adnaan Iqbal Chaudhry issued a comprehensive judgement. Announced on May 20, 2025, the ruling set aside Greentree’s actions, ordered the shareholding register to be updated, directed that funds be returned and called for elections to be held.

The report says the group opposed to Chishti then moved the Supreme Court in appeal. It adds that the appeals were listed quickly and that, after a stay order was obtained, the case files disappeared while being transported between Karachi and Islamabad. It was later determined that the files had been stolen from a courier van and were the only items taken, after which they were reconstituted.

The same report also says that, in separate proceedings, a group of lawyers assaulted Chishti in a courtroom corridor. It adds that, during the eventual hearing, Muneer A Malik and Uzair Bhindari represented Chishti, while the opposing side raised technical objections relating to company jurisdiction, pending cases and the structure of the applications.

The Supreme Court issued a short order in May 2026 dismissing all appeals against the Sindh High Court ruling and also directing the anti-Chishti group to pay his legal costs.