US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed charged in Lamborghini tax fraud case

…as GRA alleges perjury, criminal scheme

United States-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed has been charged for allegedly fraudulently under-declaring the value of a Lamborghini Aventador, which is currently at the centre of the dispute between the Mohamed and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
On Wednesday the GRA submitted said evidence to the High Court in supplemental filings that expose massive undervaluation of tax filings, and could even constitute perjury. The evidence included an original invoice for the Lamborghini, which was billed to Mohamed and shows a cost of US$695,000.
However, in his previous declarations to the court, Mohamed claimed to have spent US$76,000 on the luxury car. A difference of some US$619, 000.
This newly submitted evidence was provided by the US Department of Justice itself under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), and comprises 78 pages of correspondence between US and Guyanese authorities.
In explaining the timing of the filing, Rajandra Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Law Enforcement and Investigation Division of GRA, in his affidavit of defence, claimed that GRA was “constrained by matters of national security” and could not have disclosed the information and included the matters it was now including.
With the information now in hand, however, Singh pointed out in his affidavit that Mohamed presented “fictitious and false” documents to GRA, and thus made false declarations to the tax authority in order to evade taxes – a criminal offence.
“The applicant (Mohamed) is guilty of perjury in this court for falsely declaring the value which was paid for said vehicle and submitted a valuation which was false. “The applicant was guilty of entering into a criminal and illegal scheme with International Speed Consulting to deceive and defraud (GRA) as to the true price paid for said vehicle.”
However, on Thursday, High Court Judge Justice Gina Persaud did not allow the supplementary affidavit in Defence.
It was only on Monday that the Court of Appeal had refused GRA’s application to overturn the High Court ruling that had placed an injunction on the tax agency from seizing the luxury vehicles owned by the Mohamed family.
Last month, there had been a tense stand-off that saw enforcement officials from the GRA being blocked from seizing several high-end vehicles linked to nearly $900 million in unpaid duties.
Officers of the GRA, accompanied by ranks of the Guyana Police Force, went to the Mohamed family’s Houston, Greater Georgetown residence to take possession of the luxury vehicles after repeated notices and a month-long effort to resolve the matter amicably had failed.
However, the operation was halted after the officers were met by an angry mob that physically obstructed access to the premises. The GRA reported that Azruddin Mohamed refused to cooperate, questioned the basis for the operation, and summoned a mob from his property and nearby areas. The mob reportedly became increasingly hostile, prompting officers to leave.

Criminal case
Meanwhile, on Thursday during his weekly press conference Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo confirmed that a criminal case was filed based on the documents provided by United Stated Department of Justice.
“Now we have evidence, the Commissioner (GRA) Statia, today [Thursday] filed criminal case because false declaration is a crime according to our laws, they have charged many people with false declarations before,” the VP said, added the GRA through the designated contact point sent off a later to the US Treasury and they have received the evidence through the Treasury Department, “this is perjury before the Court.”
According to the Vice President, “the GRA has gone after people for half of a million dollar taxes, they have seized public servants and poor people vehicles, routinely they do this, 300 vehicles they seize for different transgressions, here it seems like a different rule applies…I am glad that this is actually coming out because if this was a poor man, they would have properly already taken his vehicle, he couldn’t have mobilize people and block the GRA. So, I am looking forward with great interest of what is going on.”