THE political posturing of Azruddin Mohamed and his team isn’t just juvenile and irritating, it’s a masterclass in shameless evasion. To even begin to decipher the spectacle of their behaviour, I had to excavate my notes from an undergraduate psychology course from the 1980s, searching for answers to a somewhat common affliction.

The world-renowned Canadian psychologist, Albert Bandura, referred to it as ‘moral disengagement.’ Allow me to explain why I believe the cap fits Azruddin and why Guyanese cannot let his behaviour go unchecked.

A U.S. Grand Jury has indicted Azruddin on gold smuggling charges. He has also been charged with money laundering, conspiracy, wire and mail fraud. That’s 11 counts of indictable offences in total. Instead of accepting agency and owning up to the charges, Azruddin deflects. Most men with a moral spine will, at some point, especially when the evidence is so overwhelming, admit to their crimes. Some will seek to make amends and even get on the right side of the fence. Not Azruddin. He was not raised to be that kind of man. He would rather spout lines from Tony Robbins in front of a camera to make himself sound as if he is Guyana’s lifestyle coach. For people who don’t know better, that sort of stuff has mileage.

And while they’re distracted with the ridiculous and the shiny, Azruddin, his social media-savvy sister and a well-funded machinery of lies spin his criminal behaviour within wider narratives of political rivalry and socioeconomic inequality. The rationalisations of this sourpuss duo are: we haven’t done anything that our opponents haven’t done or that others in the system haven’t also done.

And when they do that, repeatedly, the majority of their fawning admirers don’t realise that they are externalising blame by referencing a broader perception of corruption to excuse their own ethical and moral transgressions. To be barefaced about it, you have to divest yourself of personal agency and refuse to accept that your behaviour affects public morality and ethical standards.

Team Mohamed’s tactics don’t end with spectacle; the machine thrives on a relentless stream of misinformation and distortion. Azruddin boldly claimed his party won the September elections, all with a straight face, despite official results, drawing a swift rebuke from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who labelled him “delusional.” Yet Azruddin presses on, intent on deepening the legal crisis by steadily eroding public trust.

His mantra is simple: if he can’t profit from the system, neither should anyone else. Fortunately, even media outlets sympathetic to Team Mohamed and WIN refused to indulge in Team Mohamed’s fiction. Team Mohamed protests every day that they are victims of a malicious cabal out to get them. Their assertion rings hollow coming from one who dwells in opulence and drives a half-million-dollar undervalued car. The public is not easily deceived: the Gucci-wearing, Versace-sporting Azruddin, a politician more comfortable with a teleprompter than accountability, has always been the predator, never the prey.

I, like most Guyanese, pay thousands of dollars for car insurance. The insurance company knows the value of my vehicle, and God forbid, should it be involved in an accident, how much it would cost the insurance company to replace it. I respect the law and wouldn’t dare drive my vehicle without ensuring my documents were intact and stashed safely in the glove compartment, ready for inspection. Azruddin believes that because insurance companies have refused to insure his vehicle, which he has undervalued, he still has the right to drive on the roadways. His reasoning, ‘Guyana’s laws are for the ordinary, not for the Mohameds.’

Azruddin and Team Mohamed might be feeling upbeat this weekend. First, ‘The Guyanese Critic’ lost his appeal and was ordered to pay millions of dollars to the Mohameds. The Guyana Revenue Agency (GRA) withdrew criminal charges against Azruddin involving his importation of a Lamborghini Roadster SVJ, which was used to cheat the system out of millions of dollars in taxes. A civil case involving the seizure of the Lamborghini, brought to the High Court by Azruddin, got a favourable ruling from High Court Judge Gino Persaud on Friday. The judge ruled, erroneously, that GRA had no right to seize the Lamborghini after it had processed the vehicle and allowed its entry into the country, a wholly prosperous judgement.

There are no statutory limitations for GRA in cases involving compelling evidence of fraud. Taxes are the lifeline of a state, and it must have the ability to recoup monies that have been stolen from its coffers. Otherwise, what purpose does GRA serve?

Albert Bandura’s insights into moral disengagement explain how figures like Azruddin Mohamed deflect blame and reframe wrongdoing, allowing impunity to flourish amid scandal. Global accolades earned Bandura recognition as one of psychology’s most influential minds, and his research on how people rationalise unethical conduct has fresh resonance in Guyana’s current crisis.

Azruddin’s evasions and public victimhood are not just legal strategies; they’re textbook examples of Bandura’s theory in action. When public figures sidestep moral agency and exploit loopholes, they threaten collective values and erode public trust. In facing such predators, Bandura’s lesson is clear: only public vigilance can counteract moral disengagement before it poisons the core of civic life.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.