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Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has confirmed that the government’s position regarding Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed, and Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas remains unchanged following the sanctions imposed on the trio by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The sanctions, which were related to allegations of smuggling gold, defrauding the Guyanese government of US$50 million in taxes, and bribing public officials, have led to ongoing investigations in Guyana.
Speaking at a press conference today, Jagdeo reiterated, “The original position stands. I’ve not personally followed up on the issue for the last maybe couple of months, but as of now, I’m aware that we have not received the information requested of the U.S. government at this point in time.”
He added that there is an active investigation being conducted by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), and therefore, he refrained from further comment on the matter. “I will never call SOCU to ask them what the state of the investigation is. We don’t work like [Khemraj] Ramjattan and the others to call technical people every day,” Jagdeo remarked, highlighting the government’s non-interference stance in the investigation.
In response to whether government agencies were still prohibited from engaging in business with the Mohameds, Jagdeo confirmed that the instructions given by President Irfaan Ali in a previous press conference were still in effect. “The president made it explicit about what the relationship would be at the press conference, and therefore, we expect that the agencies would comply with the president’s instruction,” he stated.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the government is awaiting further information from U.S. authorities regarding the allegations against the sanctioned individuals.
