ATTORNEY GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, said that US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed who is the presential candidate of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political outfit is using the 2025 elections as a cover to avoid prosecution for serious criminalities.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Mohamed, his father, Nazar Mohamed, and their companies in June 2024 over multiple high-profile crimes.

Speaking on the Issues in the News programme on Tuesday evening, Minister Nandlall said local authorities, including the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), have already launched investigations.

However, he noted that any move to prosecute now would be met with cries of “political persecution,” shielding the Mohameds from immediate legal consequences.
“That is what they are saying all the time, we are persecuting them…These are objective actions that have to be taken, but the veil of elections is being used to protect them from law enforcement agencies carrying out their lawful duties,” Nandlall said.

He warned, however, that this protection will only be temporary.
The Attorney General emphasised that the issue extends beyond one individual, warning that if Mohamed were elected to Parliament, he would be deemed a politically exposed person (PEP) under Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) law.
This could expose Guyana’s economy and financial system to the dangers of international sanctions, he argued, saying, “He is not doing this for king or country…He is simply doing this to stave off criminal proceedings against himself.”

He noted that the consequences are severe, reminding Guyanese that the US is now a full-fledged member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which will ensure the sanctions are enforced in Guyana.

Speaking to reporters in June 2024, the US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, said the sanctions were a result of over two and a half years of investigations, with a ‘mountain load of evidence’ implicating the businessmen and a government official.

OFAC alleges that the Mohameds evaded gold export taxes and defrauded Guyana of over US$50 million between 2019 and 2023 by under-declaring more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold.
OFAC has warned of implications of associating with a sanctioned individual in a statement that read: “Financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to enforcement action.

The government has since revoked the cambio and gold licences of the Mohameds, while several banks have cut ties with them and their associates. (DPI)