Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Govt yet to receive info from US on Mohameds’ sanctions – Jagdeo says SOCU investigating
Three months later…
Kaieteur News – Three months after the United States unveiled Sanctions against Guyanese businessmen Azzrudin and Nazar Mohamed and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Mae Thomas Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that his government has not yet received information requested on the matter.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. (Govt yet to receive info from US on Mohameds’ sanctions)
Speaking at his weekly news conference Jagdeo said that “The original position stands. I have not personally followed up on the issue for the last maybe couple of months but as of now I am aware that we have not received the information requested of the US government at this point of time.”
He went on to say that, “There is an active investigation by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and therefore I do not wish to comment on it. I will never call SOCU to ask what the state of the investigation is.”
On September 9th, 2024 this publication reported over a month after the Attorney General Anil Nandlall had written to the United States Department of Justice requesting information on the alleged gold smuggling and the sanction of three Guyanese citizens they are yet to get a response.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Mohameds on allegations of tax evasion and Thomas for allegedly misusing her position to offer benefits, like government contracts to the Mohameds. The AG had said, it is being alleged that these persons are accused by the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice, Criminal Division of committing a number of criminal offences in Guyana. “The Government of Guyana has already made it very clear that these grave allegations of criminal conduct will be thoroughly investigated by the relevant law enforcement agencies of the state and in this regard we have requested the information and the evidence etcetera that are in the possession of the American authorities and we did so under the relevant Treaty,” he had explained.
Following the sanctions handed down by OFAC, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia had written to the U.S. authorities seeking more information about the sanctions.
Dr. Singh wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury while the Commissioner General under the ambit of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Guyana and the US, has been in contact with the American authorities.
Moreover, United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot on June 14, 2024 on the sideline of an event at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, said the sanctions, are the result of over two and a half years of investigations by U.S. authorities. Ambassador Theriot highlighted the gravity of the offenses that led to these sanctions. She stated, “We reserve these types of sanctions for gross levels of corruption and human rights abuses.” Theriot went on to explain that, “it’s a very high bar, we do not do this lightly. This is something that we ensure that we have a preponderance of evidence before we’re ready to levy the sanctions and we had that in this case against the three individuals who were sanctioned.”
(Govt yet to receive info from US on Mohameds’ sanctions – Jagdeo says SOCU investigating)
- Anil Nandlall, Dr. Ashni Sing, Finance Minister, Government, Jagdeo, Nazar Mohamed, OFAC, receive, sanctions, US, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
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