-President Ali maintains firm stance as he dismisses Mohamed’s latest claim about ‘undervalued’ Lamborghini
-Dr. Jagdeo questions the US-sanctioned businessman’s integrity

 

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has once again firmly rejected the “dishonest” attempt by United States (US)-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed to implicate him in a tax waiver related to a luxury vehicle.

 

With the truth glaring, as he puts it, the President outlined the “dishonesty” in insinuating that he gave the greenlight for a tax waiver, when the matter involves the submission of a false invoice.

 

“I’ve spoken on the matter; I’ve issued a statement. There’s absolutely nothing I’m going to add… I don’t have any authority on taxes,” President Ali said on Thursday evening on the sidelines of an event.

 

“This guy could claim whatever he wants, but the truth is glaring before him,” the President stated.

 

President Ali further affirmed that supporting the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is not a licence to commit wrongdoings.

 

President Ali has made it clear that Mohamed never disclosed the true purchase price of the vehicle, which has since been revealed by US authorities to be US$695,000.

 

Dr. Ali said that his phone number is not a secret, noting that citizens reach out to him regularly to voice their concerns, and then the matter is reported to the respective agencies.

Meanwhile, PPP General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo also shared his opinion and questioned the sanctioned businessman’s integrity.

 

Dr. Jagdeo on Thursday during a weekly news conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, shared his opinion.

 

The sanctioned businessman, in a video recording, showed a supposed wire-transfer receipt from Republic Bank representing full payment for one luxury vehicle in the sum of US$75,000.

 

However, at no time did he show that he presented President Ali the true and correct invoice and payment thereof for US$695,000.

 

Mohamed, who recently announced his bid for the presidency, has promised “integrity”, but this has been met with sharp criticism, especially from Dr. Jagdeo.

 

Last week, Dr. Jagdeo questioned whether the new-found political ambition is an attempt to distract from the grave criminal allegations by the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

 

The General Secretary had highlighted how the U.S-sanctioned businessman was back in the spotlight; not for philanthropy or gold exports, but in court.

 

Mohamed is currently out on $500,000 bail for customs fraud and tax evasion involving the same luxury Lamborghini that was imported in 2020.

 

He appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty to the two charges.

While some of the Mohamed’s supporters have attempted to spin the courtroom appearance as a political witch hunt, this has been rejected by many.

 

He then called for the sanctioned father- and-son duo to hold a press conference to give the public clarity on several matters.

 

However, this is not the first time the family has faced questions over the alleged abuse of power.

 

Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that in 2010, Stabroek News reported on a brutal incident involving security guards who alleged that after being accused of stealing a quantity of items from Mohamed’s Enterprise on Lombard Street, where they worked, they were tortured for several hours.

 

The guards, some elderly, claimed they were brutalised with bats, and had soapy water poured into their mouths. Some had even stated that the magnitude of cruelty led to their being unable to stand or even hear properly.

 

X-rays showed broken bones and fractured ribs, among other injuries.

 

The response from the family was a belated apology from Nazar Mohamed, who said he was overseas at the time of the incident.

 

DOWNPLAYING GRAVE ALLEGATIONS

Dr. Jagdeo turned his attention to the sanctions that were handed down by US OFAC on the father-and-son duo.

 

According to the OFAC, between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms of gold from import and export declarations, and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana (GoG).

This figure alone could fund numerous public programmes, Dr. Jagdeo said, while highlighting how grave these allegations are.

 

However, the Mohameds have not addressed the subject matter head-on, but instead purport the claim that they are being unfairly targetted by the GoG.

 

But if this were political persecution, why did the US act independently, Dr. Jagdeo had posited.