Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, who holds responsibility for Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) sector, has voiced concern about the potential negative impact of recent United States sanctions, particularly those targeting a politically exposed person (PEP), on the country’s recent achievements in the fight against financial crimes.
These concerns come at a time when Guyana has been receiving international recognition for its progress in AML/CFT efforts. The country was recently commended during a Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) study assessing money laundering vulnerabilities. The findings were presented during the 60th CFATF Plenary, held from May 25 to 30, 2025, in Trinidad and Tobago.
The CFATF Plenary, held biannually, convenes member states to address key issues related to anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and combating the financing of proliferation.
In 2024, Guyana was also recognised for its significant strides in AML/CFT compliance during CFATF’s on-site evaluations. These advancements culminated in the country winning the prestigious Best Regional AML/CFT Case Award (BREMOLT) at the 59th CFATF Plenary and Working Group Meetings, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in December 2024.
The BREMOLT competition saw eight cases submitted by four jurisdictions. Three finalists, Guyana, Jamaica, and The Bahamas, were selected by a panel of seasoned CFATF judges. Following detailed presentations, Guyana was declared the winner by a majority vote of delegates from the CFATF’s 24 member jurisdictions.
Speaking during his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall explained that Guyana is in the process of preparing a follow-up report since its last mutual evaluation exercise.
“Now whilst we did well, there were still deficiencies identified. And in the follow-up report now, which we have to submit before November, which is the next annual meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, we have to show what actions we have taken since the mutual assessment and the deficiencies that have been identified. What steps have we taken to address those deficiencies in that mutual assessment that was done. And that’s the follow-up report that we are now working on. We now have a new challenge, a new factor that was not in the equation, which we have to report on. That is to say, we have a large number of sanctioned persons who are hitherto very involved in the financial sector, operating in the gold sector and operating directly in the financial sector as a cambio dealer,” the Attorney General explained.
Among the US sanctioned individuals is Azruddin Mohamed, who has since formed a political party called “We Invest in Nationhood” and is running as the presidential candidate.
Azruddin is the son of businessman Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and is connected to several family-owned companies that were also sanctioned.
“These persons and their companies have now become the subject of OFAC sanctions. And that obviously has far and deep-reaching ramifications…We have to include this in our report now and then detail the steps that we have taken. And right now, we are writing that,” Nandlall outlined.
He pointed out that the Guyana Government has already taken decisive actions since the sanctions were announced in order to protect the country’s financial system. Additionally, he reminded that investigations have been launched.
“We have already launched our investigations here through SOCU and the Guyana Revenue Authority. But of course, you can’t move anywhere with the investigations now because you will be met with the cry of political persecution…But that will only be delayed for a while. Of course, we have to report that we have revoked the cambio licence and the gold dealer licence and all other licences enjoyed by the companies and the sanctioned persons. And of course, that the banks have taken their own actions by closing down their accounts and severing all relations with the family and the companies,” Nandlall highlighted, noting too that the banks have gone a step further and started to revoke the bank accounts of persons officially associated with WIN.
“All the members on the lists of candidates have been rescinded, their bank accounts have been closed. All of that we have to document,” he explained.
Adding to the situation, Nandlall outlined, is that the US is now a member of CFATF.
“[The US] applied for and was granted full membership of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. So, the US is now a full-fledged member of CFATF,” he pointed out.
“And obviously once the US is there, the US will ensure that its sanctions have their full effect in the countries in which they are imposed, which in this case would be Guyana. The other complicating factor is that because Azruddin Mohamed is now a presidential candidate, he would be classified as a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) under the Anti-Money Laundering Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act and being a PEP subjects that person to an even higher threshold of scrutiny,” he added.
According to Nandlall, “it’s extremely complicated and if he is to be elected to parliament, the matter would become even more complicated for Guyana and Guyanese. The point I am making is this one person is exposing this economy and this financial system and the lives of every single Guyanese to the perils of what I’m alluding to. And he’s not doing this for King or Country…he is simply doing this to stave off criminal proceedings against him…”
Guyana has been a member of the CFATF since 2002 and has been working assiduously over the years to improve its AML/CFT regime. AML/CFT policies and measures are key to the integrity and stability of the international financial system and member countries’ economies.
But according to Nandlall, “Guyana is going to be judged…because of what this guy did, you can very well get an adverse judgment and get all sorts of negative consequences flowing…these are the facts which you will see in due course.”
Back in June 2024, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the sanctions against businessmen Azruddin and his father Nazar and their businesses, stating that the Mohamed’s Enterprise smuggled some 10,000 kg of gold out of Guyana between 2019 and 2023, and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes.
In addition to the US sanctions, the businessman is also charged locally with tax evasion, for amounts totalling some $900 million.
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