Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday called for a full-fledged investigation into officials who would have assisted the Mohameds family with smuggling some US$50 million worth of gold out of the country.
“The GRA, the police, must immediately start the investigation of all of those corrupt officials who collaborated, and the Gold Board, who collaborated with the Mohameds in smuggling the gold, in every period, in the APNU period as well as the period under the PPP,” Jagdeo said during a press conference.
“I expect that a full-fledged investigation would be launched into those people from the Gold Board…who may have bene complicit in assisting the Mohameds to evade the massive sum of taxes,” he added.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)-sanctioned Guyanese businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed, have been indicted by a grand jury in the United States (US) District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
A 12-page indictment highlighted 11 criminal charges ranging from wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, primarily connected to the export of gold to the United States by Mohamed’s Enterprises.
The Mohameds are currently facing sanctions from the US Department of the Treasury’s OFAC for gold smuggling.
Based on the documents filed, the Mohameds are accused of conspiring to defraud the US and Guyanese Governments between 2017 and June 11, 2024. The father-son duo is accused of using a scheme to unlawfully obtain property by transmitting communications via interstate and foreign commerce in violation of US laws.
According to the prosecutors, the goal was to enrich themselves and defraud the Government of Guyana by evading taxes and royalties on gold exports.
They allegedly reused Guyana Customs declarations and official seals on multiple shipments to make it appear that taxes and royalties had been paid when they had not. The indictment stated that Mohamed’s Enterprise would pay taxes and receive official Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Guyana Gold Board (GGB) seals for one shipment, then reuse those same seals and documents on subsequent, untaxed shipments. The indictment further alleges that the Mohameds arranged for empty wooden boxes bearing intact GRA and GGB seals to be shipped from gold buyers in Dubai to Miami, and then sent to Guyana. These boxes were then used to export gold while falsely appearing to have cleared customs and tax obligations.
US authorities allege the scheme resulted in more than US$50 million in lost taxes and royalties to the Government of Guyana.
The documents also detail similar conduct involving shipments of gold, emails allegedly from Nazar Mohamed requesting the sealed boxes from Miami, and exports of over 165 kilograms (kg) of gold per shipment destined for Dubai.
Charges six to nine focus on mail fraud, referencing the shipment of sealed empty boxes from Dubai to Miami while charge 10 addressed money laundering which alleged that the Mohameds knowingly transferred funds within the US with the intent to promote unlawful activity.
Another charge alleges that Azruddin Mohamed’s purchased and imported a Lamborghini sports car to Guyana in 2020. The indictment alleges he directed someone to purchase the car for US$680,000, then falsify the invoice to state a value of US$75,300 to understate import taxes.
The US Government is seeking forfeiture of certain assets connected to the accused. If convicted, most charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to US$250,000 while the money laundering charge carries a fine of US$500,000 or the value of the laundered property.
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