GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The presidential candidate of the newly-formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party, Azruddin Mohamed, has vowed to clear his name in an alleged murder incident and is accusing the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) of being behind the accusation.
Azruddin Mohamed“The Guyana Police Force also publicly confirmed that I was never a suspect. This information is publicly known, and I remain committed to clearing my name,” Mohamed said in a statement posted on his Team Mohamed’s Facebook page.
Mohamed, who earlier this year announced his intention to contest the September 1 regional and general election as a president candidate against the incumbent President Irfaan Ali and the nominee of the main opposition parties, said he had never been named a person of interest or a suspect in any murder investigation.
He said that a September 2022 report by the Barbados-based Regional Security System (RSS) clearly states that there was no evidence of corruption or cover-up in the investigation into the shooting death of Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes outside Palm Court in March 2021.
“I, Azruddin Mohamed, reiterate my willingness to cooperate with any fair and credible investigation into any allegations made against me,” he said hours after Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo spoke on whether there was a police investigation into the incident.
Jagdeo recalled President Ali saying in April this year that an “important piece of evidence” had been sent to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) from which information had been sent back to Guyana and so additional questioning was expected to take place.
Jagdeo said “I hope we find out the truth”.
Mohamed wrote on his Facebook page that “over the past months, I have seen continuous efforts to attack my character, tarnish my name, and discredit my family. I strongly reject these actions”.
He urged voters to stay alert and take note of the ongoing political efforts to “undermine my credibility and hinder my campaign.
“These attacks are politically motivated, planned by the threatened PPP/C, and carried out by their associates to push false narratives,” he said, adding that since he announced that he would contest the general and regional elections, several tactics have been used against him. He said they include defamation of his family in the media, blocking his visits to indigenous communities, false accusations of tax evasion, and rape “and now reviving baseless murder allegations”.
Mohammed has been sanctioned by the United States’ Treasury Department’s Office for Foreign Assets Control for allegedly evading more than US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana Revenue Authority on the export of 10,000 kilogrammes of gold.
He is also facing charges for tax evasion and false declaration for his Lamborghini luxury car.
