-Dr. Jagdeo dismisses WIN’s appeal to UN, CARICOM; says even a ‘vagrant can write the Secretary General’
-cites OFAC’s guidance on matter

THE U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has made it clear that it will not intervene and direct local banks on how to handle those affiliated with sanctioned individuals, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has emphasised.

During a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, Georgetown, he referenced the recent statement by OFAC and dismissed letters sent by the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party to CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres over several commercial banks’ decision to close the accounts of some of its members and candidates.

Dr. Jagdeo branded the move as a “PR stunt.”

“A vagrant can write the Secretary-General. Even Mad Max can write the Secretary-General. It doesn’t mean anything,” he said, adding: “It’s all a PR [stunt]…no CARICOM country or the United Nations will tell a local bank how to derisk…because if they lose their banking relationships, they might as well shut down the banks.”

“The first thing they’ll do is Google—and they’ll see the Reuters report and tax evasion…. You think these people will then tell a local bank or any bank in the world what to do?” he questioned.

He further stated that the WIN camp continues to run around serious issues: “You remember the lie that they have been telling people outside of the Umana Yana? Azruddin Mohamed said ‘Oh, the sanctions only relate to my companies. They have nothing to do with anything else.’ Well, now, OFAC…says that people could be sanctioned too for dealing with the Mohameds.”

OFAC has reaffirmed that non-U.S. persons could face sanctions if found providing material support to the sanctioned Mohamed family, as a result of the far-reaching consequences of their designation under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

This was outlined in a document, which was OFAC’s response to queries from the WIN camp following the closure of bank accounts belonging to several candidates.

The document made it clear that transactions with sanctioned individuals are generally prohibited for U.S. persons, and non-U.S. entities are not immune from repercussions.

The body warned that “non-U.S. persons could also face sanctions risk for certain activities involving sanctioned persons, such as providing material support to them.”

The agency reiterated that unless exempt or specifically licensed, U.S. financial institutions are barred from engaging in transactions where a sanctioned individual has an interest, directly or indirectly.

Mohamed’s sanctions come with a serious set of consequences, which are spelt out in the sanction document published in June of 2024.

Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin and their businesses, namely Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing, on June 11, 2024, were sanctioned by OFAC, which oversees sanctions against individuals and entities tied to illicit activities and hostile foreign governments.

As a result, persons have lost their visas and candidates of his political party, WIN, have lost their bank accounts, owing to local banks refusing to undergo financial collapse by severing their ties with US corresponding banks.

The United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, had highlighted the possible repercussions of Mohamed’s bid for office and possible election to office.

The concerns were related to both diplomatic and economic relations, which would be strained.