‘PPP ministers not on any sanctions list’ – Jagdeo

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who is the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), on Thursday said no government minister is on a list to be sanctioned.

Jagdeo was responding to at least one Facebook post which insinuated that ministers from the governing PPP would be sanctioned by the United States of America.

“It’s a lie. No PPP minister is on any sanction list or to be sanctioned,” Jagdeo said during a party press conference on Thursday.

However, Jagdeo zeroed in on the sanctions handed down by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last year.

On 11 June 2024, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced the imposition of sanctions against the Mohamed family—specifically targeting Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed, and their businesses: Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World, and Team Mohamed’s Racing. These sanctions were related to alleged gold smuggling and corruption.

As a result of the OFAC sanctions, the Mohameds’ business licences were revoked, and their bank accounts were closed. Mae Thomas, the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, who was also sanctioned, and her family members had their accounts closed, too.

Mr. Mohamed, Jagdeo said, has been claiming that the sanctions aren’t serious. However, Jagdeo contended that there are many ramifications.

In addition to what happened with the Mohameds and their businesses already, four local banks- Demerara Bank, GBTI, Citizens Bank, and the New Building Society- closed accounts belonging to candidates of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party. WIN is led by Azruddin.

This year, Senior Superintendent Himnauth Sawh and three other Guyanese also faced OFAC sanctions. The others are: Paul Daby Jr., son of the late Paul Daby Snr., who died in Colombia in 2021; Mark Cromwell, also known as ‘Demon’ and ‘Diamond,’ a name long linked to criminal elements in Guyana; and Randolph Duncan, for whom little public information is available.

Jagdeo affirmed that PPP Ministers are not being sanctioned but opined that such assertions may be mischievous.