–calls, messages unanswered

MORE than a week after High Court Judge Gino Persaud faced travel restrictions because his United States visa had been placed under review, key questions remain unanswered, especially concerning what information triggered the review.
Justice Persaud was among a delegation of Guyanese judicial officers scheduled to travel to Kingston, Jamaica, for the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) Annual Conference 2026, which ran from September 20 to 24.
The itinerary required transit through Miami, and he was advised during the airline check-in process that he could not proceed because of the status of his US visa.
Efforts to contact Justice Persaud for comment were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to the judge have gone unanswered since.

While the judge has remained silent, Justice Courtney Abel, a former Belize High Court judge and Head of the University of Guyana’s Department of Law, addressed the CMJA conference in Jamaica and, without offering any evidence, suggested that the action taken against Justice Persaud might have resulted from US displeasure with his ruling in the Azruddin Mohamed Lamborghini tax-fraud case and that it raised questions about judicial independence.
“A sanction need not announce its name,” Justice Abel told the gathering. He questioned at what point an unexplained exercise of foreign executive power affecting a judge, following politically sensitive decisions, becomes a public issue of judicial independence.
Yet, Justice Abel conceded that he had nothing to substantiate the link he suggested. He acknowledged that there is not yet proof and that suspicion is not evidence, but relied instead on what he called chronology, context and concern, pointing to the Mohamed family’s US sanctions and extradition proceedings.

It is not known how Justice Abel arrived at this conclusion, since neither Justice Persaud nor the US authorities have stated any reason for what amounts to a form of sanction. The Guyana Chronicle’s attempts to obtain clarification from Justice Abel were futile, as he, too, has not answered calls and messages to his mobile number.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall dismissed claims that the Government might have been responsible, saying it has no influence over whom the US permits to enter its territory.
US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot has since shed light on how such reviews work. She said the US Embassy in Guyana had no role to play in this particular case and was not aware that Justice Persaud’s visa was under review when he was stopped from boarding. She explained that such actions are processed and decided directly in Washington, DC, and consular sections on the ground are frequently not alerted until a final determination has been reached.

When asked why a person’s visa may be placed under review, she stated that it happens when US authorities receive information concerning the holder that would cause them to reconsider whether that person remains eligible.
This is not the first time there has been a controversy surrounding Justice Persaud. His decision to reject critical evidence provided by US authorities under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act during the Lamborghini tax-fraud court matter between Azruddin Mohamed and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) raised eyebrows.
The evidence was crucial to the GRA’s case, as it showed the falsification of documentation by Mohamed in an effort to defraud the State of millions of dollars in taxes.
Justice Persaud also rejected evidence from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry and would later rule against the GRA on November 14, 2025.