–US Ambassador confirms; says strongly supports, recommends release of requested information to Guyanese authorities

A RECOMMENDATION has been sent to the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in Washington for the sharing of information on recent sanctions levied on the Mohameds and government official Mae Thomas, the US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot has said.

Responding to the Guyanese government’s concerns, Ambassador Theriot on Thursday disclosed that Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and GRA Commissioner Godfrey Statia requested the documentation used in building the case that led to the sanctions.

Against this backdrop, she strongly advocated for the provision of as much information as possible to assist Guyana’s internal investigations.

“I passed that request immediately to the Treasury Department, which is sort of the umbrella for the investigation, and I, again, strongly recommended that they share as much of that evidence that is unclassified or that can be shared.

“We want a wonderful partnership with the Government of Guyana, and we want them to be able to take that information and do with it what they need to do,” she said.

Addressing why the Guyanese government was kept in the dark during the investigation, Ambassador Theriot clarified that such confidentiality is standard procedure to prevent compromising the investigation.

“My understanding is…they have to keep those investigations very close because they can be compromised by anyone. So, we tend to not share a lot of information until the investigation reaches a certain stage.

“I regret that people feel that they’ve been left in the dark, but that is just…it would be exactly the same way if we were conducting an investigation against someone who’s accused of corruption in the United States,” she said.

On Tuesday, the OFAC sanctioned father and son, Nazar Mohamed, and Azruddin Mohamed, respectively, their company Mohamed’s Enterprise, and a Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Labour (MoL), Mae Thomas, for their alleged roles in public corruption.

Following this, officials here wrote the US Ambassador requesting information gathered in the two and half year investigation.

“I think that it is very important for the government of Guyana to have that information so that they can take the next steps,” Ambassador Theriot said.

According to the US Ambassador the investigation was kept under close wraps to avoid compromise.

Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, in his take on this matter during a press conference at the Office of the President, said the claims by the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against three Guyanese nationals is being treated with the utmost seriousness.

According to Vice-President Jagdeo, the Central Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have been tasked with preparing a report outlining the implications of the sanctions on Guyana’s financial system.

“We want to safeguard our financial system,” he firmly said, adding: “The Central Bank has notified us that they’ve already indicated to the Mohameds that they will cancel their cambio licence, because that’s part of the financial system.”

Within the statement, the OFAC highlighted that gold is one of Guyana’s main exports, but it remains a highly fractured industry with small-scale gold-mining operations in Guyana occupying a majority share of the country’s gold production.

The cambio licence of the Mohameds has since been revoked, while PS Thomas has been sent on administrative leave.She has also tenured her resignation from the central committee of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

The OFAC’s statement noted that the enterprise evaded more than US$50 million in duty taxes by under-declaring over 10,000 kilograms of gold exports between 2019 and 2023.

Ambassador Theriot stressed US’ support to Guyana in addressing the serious allegations, she noted committed that there will be a transparent exchange of information and a continued partnership between the two states.

“I was very clear in my request that we want to be able to share as much as humanly possible because we want to be very transparent. The Government of Guyana has been very transparent with us, and we want to do the same in return,” she affirmed.