–says allegations aimed at derailing extradition
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues has rejected the “libellous and simply false” claims by U.S.-indicted Azruddin Mohamed, stating that it is a clear attempt by him to divert attention from his extradition proceedings.
While outrightly rebutting the allegations being spewed by Mohamed, Minister Rodrigues reaffirmed that her assets overseas and locally are declared and lawfully acquired.
In the statement, the minister made it clear that the U.S.-indicted Mohamed has taken public information and “twisted it to satisfy his own perverse narrative.”
Minister Rodrigues once again stated that as a Minister of Government, she is classified as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and as such, every bank and financial institution in the civilised world demands step-by-step proof of funds when a transaction is being done. The minister said that the “desperate” narrative being perpetuated by Mohamed that her assets are funded by illicit activities is “libellous and simply false.”
She then drew a sharp contrast between herself and Mohamed, stating: “Imagine the irony of the Mohamed’s, accused by international organisations of drug trafficking, money laundering, gold smuggling and links to Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations, compounded by a US indictment, accusing me of wrong-doing.”
DISPUTING ALLEGATIONS
The minister then addressed the allegations made by Mohamed against her. First, she said two of her properties in the state of Florida can be independently verified since they form part of the public record. The third address, 8601 NW 46th Ct. Lauderhill, FL is that of a property owned by a company of which she has shares.
Second, in contrast to Mohamed’s claim that the property was purchased in full on March 11, 2024, the minister said that the property was, in fact, purchased with a mortgage from a US Financial Institution, AD Mortgage.
As evidence, she has made public her annual tax and interest statement for 2024, showing the date and value of the mortgage.
The property is rented, and the mortgage is being serviced by the rental income, she clarified.
“All of this is public record in the State of Florida and could have been easily verified by Azruddin Mohamed. He chose instead to intentionally mislead the public,” she said.
The minister went on to say that Mohamed has repeatedly and wrongly equated her assets to her public service salary, deeming his efforts as “asinine.”
“This is an unfair and asinine comparison that completely disregards how a person leverages equity to access loans from the banking system. In addition to my public service salary, I receive rental income from other properties and proceeds from our family businesses.”
In the interest of transparency and to remove any doubt as to her source of funds, the minister is publishing the Certificates of Title for Lots 1242 and 1243 Peter’s Hall, which prove that she acquired mortgages on those properties when they were purchased.
She also denied owning the Herstelling property where she currently resides, stating that the title shows it was acquired in 2016, prior to her entry into government.
She also denied owning a gas station located at 224 Camp and New Market Streets in Georgetown.
“This is also not true,” the minister said, noting that the gas station has been owned by Shell Antilles and Guianas Limited since 1962 and never changed ownership. The transport for this property is part of the public record and can be easily verified. My partner is the operator of this establishment. We do not own any of the assets on that property,” Rodrigues said.
“This clearly establishes a pattern of lies peddled by Azruddin Mohamed to cause public confusion and to distract from his own criminality. While Azruddin Mohamed has deceived people about his business, his income and his life, I can produce evidence to clear my good name. Azruddin Mohamed still has to answer for the international reports on his involvement in gold smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities from which his wealth was acquired. This is the same individual who said his party’s symbol is a leopard instead of a jaguar,” the statement concluded.
