GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) says it is not surprised that local banks were distancing themselves from candidates associated with the We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) political outfit, headed by the United States sanctioned businessman, Azruddin Mohamed.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo speaking at news conferenceFollowing the sanctions announced in June last year, the Bank of Guyana revoked the Mohameds’ cambio and gold trading licenses and since then the Demerara Bank Limited, GBTI, and now Citizens Bank have all shut down accounts linked to individuals associated with the family.
Speaking at his weekly news conference, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters that the actions by banks come as no surprise.
“We have been warning people,” said Jagdeo, who is also the general secretary of the ruling party.
“The OFAC sanction was very clear. It says financial institutions cannot deal with this man, or they risk being sanctioned by the US and losing corresponding banking relationships. It even warns that ordinary people who continue to do business with him can face law enforcement action,” he added.
Mohamed is one of at least four candidates contesting the position of President during the September 1 regional and general elections. The others are the incumbent, Irfaan Ali of the ruling party, Aubrey Norton of the main coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Nigel Hughes of the Alliance for Change (AFC).
Mohamed, had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June 2024 for allegedly evading US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana government on more than 10,000 kilograms of gold exports.
Late last month, the billionaire businessman said he remains confident that the United States will lift its one-year-old sanctions on him, even as the Guyana government urged voters not to cast ballots in his favor during the elections.
Washington has also signaled its uneasiness at the possibility Mohamed could emerge as the new head of state in Guyana following the elections with the US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, expressing concern that an individual sanctioned by OFAC becoming a member of parliament or a government committee.
She said this could have serious implications for US-Guyana political relations and possibly a scaling back or pulling out of American investments here.
“The other things that concerns me more however, is that when you see an OFAC sanctioned individual become an official within a government, it sends concerns through the private sector in the United States will start rethinking their relationships within the country, we saw it in Afghanistan and other countries, they sometime tend to de-risk or cut ties with the country,” the Ambassador said, adding “they sometimes look to de-risk or to even cut ties with the country”.
But Mohamed said that Guyana is a sovereign country and his entry into the elections was a result of him responding to the people of Guyana.
“This is a sovereign nation. This is the will of the people, they want me to run for office. That is why I declared my candidacy- the people of this country,” he said and that his administration would finance the several programs and policies that are outlined in the manifesto by cutting “wasteful spending and corruption”.
Jagdeo told reporters that the WIN party was campaigning on false political victimization claims, all while deliberately ignoring the serious allegations levelled against its leader.
“They have a clever campaign. Oh, we’re going to get the sanctions lifted. How? Jagdeo questioned.
Among the WIN members affected by the local banks actions are its general secretary Odessa Primus and Natasha-Singh Lewis, who are on the party’s List of Candidates for the upcoming elections.
