– cautions voters about sanctioned candidate’s risks to Guyana

PEOPLE’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Member and Attorney General Anil Nandlall has dismissed claims made by businessman and presidential hopeful Azruddin Mohamed that the sanctions imposed on him by the United States only affect his business operations.

Mohamed, who recently submitted his party’s list of candidates for the upcoming 2025 General and Regional Elections under his newly formed party We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), told reporters on Monday that the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) apply solely to his companies, Mohamed’s Enterprise and Hadi’s World Incorporated. He also insisted that his presidential ambitions do not put Guyana at risk.
However, during his Issues in the News programme on Tuesday evening, Nandlall rejected Mohamed’s assertions, clarifying that the OFAC sanctions are personal and extend to his businesses and all associates.

“I heard the argument that the sanctions only relate to the business. Now that is far from the truth. The sanction is personal, and it also relates to the businesses. Sanctions also have repercussions for relationships, for associations — anyone who associates with sanctioned individuals or organisations can also be sanctioned. That’s clearly set out in the OFAC publications,” Nandlall explained.

The US imposed sanctions on Azruddin Mohamed, his father Nazar Mohamed, and several affiliated companies in 2024, citing large-scale tax evasion on gold exports. According to OFAC, between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise failed to declare over 10,000 kilograms of gold and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
Nandlall argued that these sanctions have wider implications for Guyanese citizens and institutions, pointing out that individuals or entities conducting business with sanctioned persons, risk being sanctioned themselves.

He noted that this reality has already caused prominent founding members of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), including Ralph Ramkarran and Timothy Jonas, to withdraw their support after WIN announced a coalition with ANUG to contest the upcoming elections.

“There is a saying that fools often wonder where wise men dare not go. I am not calling anybody fools but I am drawing reference to that important proverb,” Nandlall said, highlighting what he described as the dangers of associating with individuals under international sanctions.

He also emphasised the potential geopolitical fallout, especially given the United States’ strong support for Guyana in its ongoing territorial dispute with Venezuela.
“The US will not support a government that its own government has sanctioned, and there is a body of evidence somewhere in the Congress that has led congressmen and women to label the leader of WIN as a puppet of Maduro,” Nandlall said, referring to concerns raised by US lawmakers.

In recent months, US Congressman Carlos Gimenez and Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar have both expressed alarm over Mohamed’s political ambitions. Congressman Gimenez called Mohamed a “pro-Maduro puppet candidate” while Congresswoman Salazar warned that individuals sanctioned for illicit activities must not be allowed to undermine Guyana’s close relationship with the United States.

Beyond the international dimension, Nandlall also questioned Mohamed’s fitness to lead, citing his failure to present any clear policy positions and his inability to answer basic questions from the media.
“Running a country is not a show-boy thing. This is not wearing sunshades and fancy clothes and throwing money around you never worked for. This is about representing people who are putting their trust and livelihood in your hands,” Nandlall said.

Mohamed, when pressed by reporters for details about his plans for Guyana, reportedly offered little more than vague responses such as “very soon” and “very shortly.”
The Attorney General noted that leadership requires serious commitment and competence, not empty fanfare, especially at a time when Guyana’s international standing and national interests must be carefully safeguarded.