“Stop playing victim” – Jagdeo slams Azruddin Mohamed for ‘bullyism’, photo-op politics

…says sanctioned businessman must face consequences instead of shifting blame

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo unleashed a blistering criticism of United States sanctioned businessman-turned-political aspirant Azruddin Mohamed and his associates, accusing them of “bullyism, ”photo-op politics, and dangerous victim theatrics designed to mislead the public and dodge accountability.
Jagdeo, speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, expressed disgust over what he described as “a free pass” given to Mohamed by sections of the media, while also exposing alleged behind-the-scenes tactics involving manipulation, bullying of Indigenous leaders, and attempts to bypass electoral laws.

Recalling a recent incident, whereby Mohamed and members of his party ‘We Invest in Nationhood’ (WIN) politicised the hosting of the ‘Queens of the Pitch’ cricket tournament in Wikki Calcuni in the Berbice River, Jagdeo lamented that there is a clear distinction between providing support and bullying citizens to subscribe to political rhetoric.
“What upset me a lot was the Berbice River incident. When it’s disparaging for the people who live in these communities and the Toshao… so people are free to go to the day of sport, I think the Toshaos made it clear. And they showed up with about 10 people, took out their flags and started waving them in the people’s faces, and ran through the community, taking pictures as though the whole gathering there were for them.”
“They do that very cleverly. They go, and they’re photobombing people’s pictures and stuff like that, crowds. So, the Toshao objected. The Toshao said, ‘You know, here, I didn’t give you permission for a political event. You can come to the sport but not the political event.’ They tried to bully the two in his own village. And you know, the law is quite clear that you have to get permission to go to the villages,” Jagdeo said.
Against this backdrop, Jagdeo criticised the silence of civil society organisations and some media houses, who he says are quick to condemn the Government but have turned a blind eye to thuggery and disrespect from Mohamed’s camp.
“That is what they do, the thuggish behaviour. And they’re not going to make much impact, but they’re just good at playing the victim. So, they posted this image where the Toshao, when they’re pushing this stuff in their face, just grabbed it and threw it on the ground, the flag. They posted that to get sympathy. Look, oh, this man is pro PPP. I don’t even know if the Toshao is a card member of the party. But they were just bullying him in his own community. And not a word from all of these NGOs,” the Vice President said.
Further, Jagdeo firmly rejected claims that the PPP/C is behind Mohamed’s legal woes and sanctions, particularly the high-profile sanctions imposed by the United States Government on Mohamed’s company for gold smuggling.
In fact, he reminded that it was the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that sanctioned Mohamed, not the Government.
“So, we will defend our record, but we’re not persecuting him. He likes to claim that. He goes and lies around the country that the PPP sanctioned him. We didn’t sanction him. The US did, but we are obligated once he is sanctioned.”
“This is a serious, serious business. Very few people in the world are sanctioned by the US Treasury… If you’re local and you do business with the Mohameds, you’re subjected,” he said.
In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced that it sanctioned members of one of Guyana’s wealthiest families, Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, several of their companies, and a Guyanese Government official, Mae Thomas, for their roles in alleged public corruption in Guyana.
According to a statement from OFAC, this is related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports, 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.
Citing five sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Reuters had reported that the Mohameds are suspected of smuggling both Colombian cocaine and Venezuelan gold to international markets. Further, an intelligence report referenced in the investigation suggests that they may also be involved in laundering money for drug traffickers and criminal organisations, including sanctioned Russian nationals operating in the region.

Maduro “puppet”
Earlier this month, United States (US) Congressman Carlos Gimenez raised concerns over what he describes as Venezuela’s attempt to influence internal affairs in Guyana, specifically through a controversial figure. In a statement posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today, Gimenez stated: “In the US Congress we are alarmed by the regime in Venezuela’s attempt to undermine Guyana through its pro-Maduro puppet candidate Azruddin Mohamed, who is sanctioned by OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control).”
One day later, US Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar also issued a pointed rebuke of any efforts to derail democratic norms in Guyana, underscoring that sanctioned individuals must not be allowed to threaten the country’s relationship with the US.
She made this remark via social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, “We remain deeply concerned about efforts to undermine democracy in Guyana. As a strategic ally of the United States, Guyana deserves leaders who respect democratic values. Individuals sanctioned for illicit activities must not be allowed to jeopardise this vital relationship.”

Tax evasion and fraudulent declaration
In March of this year, local law enforcement agencies, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), received a ‘sufficient volume’ of evidence to take action against the businessmen.
In a Reuters article published on July 14, 2023, it was revealed that the family was under investigation by several US agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Homeland Security.
In May, Mohamed was placed on $500,000 bail for tax evasion and fraudulent declaration charges in relation to the purchase of the Lamborghini Roadster SVJ.
Mohamed appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty on May 29 at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where he answered to the two charges brought by GRA: false declaration to the GRA and tax evasion.
The first charge alleged that the 39-year-old, on or around December 7, 2020, caused to be made and subscribed a false declaration to the GRA when he stated on the GRA’s custom declaration form that the purchase amount for the Lamborghini was US$75,300, instead of the true purchase price of US$695,000.
The second charge accuses Mohamed of, on the same date, fraudulently declaring to the Revenue Authority US $75,300 as the purchase price for the luxury vehicle, thus resulting in the sum of $383,383,345 in taxes being evaded. Mohamed, who is also currently facing sanctions by the US Government over gold smuggling and tax evasion allegations, pleaded not guilty to both charges. It was previously reported that these charges were filed by the GRA after it obtained evidence from the US Department of Justice (DoJ). GRA Commissioner Godfrey Statia had written to the US authorities for information on the purchase of the luxury vehicle.
The Revenue Authority and Mohamed are currently embroiled in legal proceedings in the High Court. The GRA filed the matter to recover the outstanding taxes owed by the businessman.