Central Bank Governor upbraids US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed for misrepresentation

Governor of the Bank of Guyana (BoG), Dr Gobind Ganga, has in a statement publicly upbraided leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party and incoming Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed, for misrepresenting the facts from a recent conservation they had. Mohamed, who is currently facing sanctions from the United States (US) Government for gold smuggling, claimed over the weekend that he was advised by Dr Ganga how to go about reinstating the bank accounts of WIN members that were shut down by several local banks.
However, in a statement late Saturday night, the Central Bank clarified the content of the conversation between the Central Bank Governor and Mohamed.
“Mr Mohamed has misrepresented the facts on social media,” the BoG stated.
According to the missive, “The Governor advised Mr Mohamed to withdraw his case against the commercial banks and affiliates to seek re-evaluation of their money laundering/terrorist financing risks, which is the responsibility of the commercial banks.” In an article published on Saturday by online news entity Guyana Standards, Mohamed was quoted saying that the BoG head advised him to have his lawyer write to the various commercial banks that had closed more than 70 accounts belonging to WIN members. It was to this report of the conversation, it is assumed, the bank clarified in its late-night statement.
Back in June 2024, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed, his father Nazar Mohamed and several of their companies including Mohamed’s Enterprise.
The sanctions are related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports, with OFAC noting that between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
Since the imposition of the sanctions, the Guyana Government had suspended the licences of the Mohameds’ various businesses, highlighting that the US-sanctioned businessman is a risk and a threat to Guyana’s financial stability, sovereignty and diplomacy. Subsequently, several Government entities and local businesses including commercial banks have cut ties with the Mohameds.
Azruddin Mohamed subsequently launched his political party and he contested the September 1 General and Regional Elections as WIN’s Presidential Candidate. Dozens of individuals associated with Mohamed and who appeared on the candidates lists of the WIN party also had their personal accounts cancelled by at least three local banks. Nevertheless, at the recent elections, Mohamed’s party managed to secure over 109,000 votes and has earned a place as the main parliamentary opposition after obtaining 16 seats in the National Assembly.
But even as the sanctioned Mohamed is set to take up the role as the country’s Opposition Leader, the US Government has said it will not be conducting any financial transactions with the businessman-turn politician.
Prior to the elections earlier this month, US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, had expressed concerns about Mohamed entering parliament – something which she subsequently says they will have to work around. In fact, she noted the US has worked with other OFAC-sanctioned individuals in other countries who are in the National Assembly but stated that those interactions are limited since OFAC sanctions are specific to financial transactions. “We have ways of working around it. We’ve done it in other countries. So, it’s not a deal breaker in any way. We just wouldn’t be able to engage in any financial transactions with him… So being in a discussion with Mr Mohamed about Guyana’s national security or something of that nature is very, very different from signing a contract,” Ambassador Theriot told reporters on September 3.