WIN’s Charles Sugrim, lies on, insults Muslim leader

A Muslim leader whose United States visa was revoked last year due to his association with OFAC-sanctioned businessman, Azruddin Mohamed, has come in for grave insults, and lies peddled against him by members of the WIN political party.

Imam Badrudeen Khan, who heads the East Street Darul Uloom Masjid that is linked to the Mohameds, revealed via his social media page on Saturday that his visa was revoked because of his association with Azruddin.

Khan released two documents that detail the questions he was asked by officials from the Department of Homeland Security. He was asked specifically about his WhatsApp messages with Azruddin, how long he had known him, the last time they had made contact, and his relationship with him.

Khan’s post was shared in a ‘Guyana Forum’ WhatsApp group in which Charles Sugrim, an Executive Member for Azruddin’s party, is a participant.

Sugrim responded to the post by insulting the Muslim leader.

“His visa was revoked because he was filming a woman breastfeeding her child at JFK and sharing it with other contacts,” Sugrim wrote in the WhatsApp group.

Additionally, Azruddin’s sister, Hana, also lashed out at the Muslim leader on her Facebook page. She was at the time rebuking him for comments he made at a mosque about those who are unfit to lead Guyana.

Azruddin and his family are well-known Muslims and close to the community; he has been using religion as one of his campaign strategies as part of efforts to get votes at the September 1 general and regional elections.

In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it sanctioned Azruddin and his father, Nazar Mohamed, as well as several of their companies. They were sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.

The sanctions are reserved for money laundering, drug trafficking, public corruption, and gold smuggling.

Azruddin later launched the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party, and he is running as the presidential candidate.

Editor’s note: Charles Sugrim’s designation has been updated from Campaign Manager to Executive Member. WIN representatives clarified his designation after the story was published.