PEOPLE’S Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has made it clear that only the President has immunity, and that parliamentarians are not shielded from answering to criminality.

With U.S.-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed, leader of the political outfit We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), who is likely to be Opposition Leader, the General Secretary during a press conference at Freedom House on Thursday outlined that only the Head of State has immunity, not a parliamentarian.

Dr. Jagdeo said: “This was not a three-month long political party, [it] started a long time ago to save him from accountability. Well, no parliamentarian has immunity and that is what I think he is worried about. President has immunity. That’s why he wants to be sworn in now as President.”

The General Secretary stated that this is the primary reason why WIN supporters were protesting in front of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), with calls to swear in Azruddin, whose party did not obtain more votes than the PPP/C at Monday’s polls.

Dr. Jagdeo emphasised: “No parliamentarian has immunity from fraud and criminal behaviour.”

Azruddin along with his father, Nazar Mohamed and their businesses, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing, on June 11, 2024, were sanctioned by U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees sanctions against individuals and entities tied to illicit activities and hostile foreign governments.

In a June 2024 statement, the OFAC stated, “Azruddin and Mohamed’s Enterprise evaded Guyana’s tax on gold exports and defrauded the Guyanese government of tax revenues by under-declaring their gold exports to Guyanese authorities. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilogrammes of gold from import-and-export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.”

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

The first charge alleged that he falsely declared the purchase price of a Lamborghini Roadster SVJ at US$75,300 when the value of the vehicle was reportedly US$695,000.

The second charge alleged that Mohamed made the false declaration on or about December 7, 2020, at the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) Camp Street office, which resulted in the evasion of taxes to the tune of $383,383,345.
The complaints were officially lodged by GRA Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia after the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly provided damning evidence, including the original invoice from the American dealership that sold the vehicle.

Authorities say the Lamborghini, which features a 6,500cc engine and bears Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) ZHWUN6ZDILLA09394, was imported using documentation that did not reflect its true value.

The case against Mohamed also includes wire transfer records obtained from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), allegedly showing payments made from his account to the U.S. seller that align with the higher value.

According to the GRA, the significantly undervalued declaration resulted in the non-payment of applicable duties and taxes, a matter now also under scrutiny in the High Court.

If proven, Mohamed could be liable for substantial back payments and penalties.

Meanwhile, the GRA has initiated legal proceedings in the Demerara High Court against Mohamed and several of his family members, alleging that multiple luxury vehicles were grossly undervalued at the time of importation.

According to the tax agency, this caused the family to pay significantly less taxes than legally mandated.

As a result, the GRA is seeking a court order requiring the Mohamed family to pay an additional $1.2 billion in taxes on the under-declared luxury vehicles, which include a Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 3000, a Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 4000, a Lamborghini PZZ 4000, and a Ferrari 488 PAD 5000.

The Full Court of Demerara had refused an application by the GRA to overturn an existing injunction. The Bench comprised Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George- Wiltshire, SC and High Court Judge Nareshwar Harnanan.

The injunction, granted in April 2025 by Justice Gino Persaud, bars the GRA from seizing the luxury vehicles while the tax evasion case against the Mohameds remains pending.

The GRA’s legal team is headed by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, former Senator and Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, and includes Senior Counsel Robin Stoby, along with attorneys Maritha Halley, Judy Stuart-Adonis, Jason Moore, Fiona Hamilton, Ornise Gordon, and Nicklin Belgrave.

Following the Full Court’s ruling, the vehicles will remain in the Mohameds’ possession pending the outcome of the substantive case before Justice Persaud, who is expected to deliver his decision on September 12, 2025.