– over $193M in cash, gold and diamonds seized

A BRAZILIAN man, who is Director of Gago Gold Inc., 43-year-old businessman Sebastiao De Oliveria Moura, was on Monday, April 7, 2025, ‘slapped’ with five counts of money laundering when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Moura, who was previously charged under the Guyana Gold Board Act for failing to keep and produce proper financial records, was brought before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at Court One.

He was not required to plead to the five indictable charges, which were laid in accordance with Section 3(1)(c) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, Chapter 10:11.
Bail was granted in the sum of $1,750,000 for all five charges, and the matter was adjourned to April 22, 2025, for disclosure.

The charges stem from a year-long investigation launched by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) on February 7, 2024, following a joint intelligence-led operation involving the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
During a search of Moura’s business premises at 19 Albert Street, Bourda, Georgetown, investigators seized a significant quantity of local and foreign currencies, gold, and diamonds. Items recovered included: GY $81,101,200; US $6,057; SRD $240; 4,018.15 pennyweights of gold valued at GY $112,588,563; and 3.5 grams of diamonds.

Deputy Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh, Head of SOCU, said the investigation revealed that the seized cash, gold, and diamonds were suspected to be the proceeds of crime, directly linked to gold-smuggling and money-laundering activities.

SOCU further contended that Moura acquired and possessed the assets knowing, or having reasonable grounds to believe, that they were derived from criminal conduct — in breach of Guyana’s anti-money laundering laws.
The case remains under active investigation, and Moura is expected to return to court later this month.