No financial dealings with Mohamed, only limited engagement – US Ambassador

With US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed likely to become the country’s next Leader of the Opposition, US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot says her government will have to find ways to work around the issues this situation presents.

For instance, she noted that the US will have to engage Mohamed in a limited capacity.

“In the event that Mr. Mohamed is part of the opposition or a leader of the opposition or has a seat in parliament, the US has worked in other countries with OFAC-sanctioned individuals in their National Assembly or their Parliament,” the ambassador noted.

“It complicates matters slightly, but it’s not a huge issue. We would just have to find ways to work around that individual. And again, reminding everyone that OFAC sanctions are specific to financial transactions,” she added.

The Ambassador noted that the US could engage him on other matters, but not on financial discussions or transactions.

“So really it comes down to, we work with other people in the government when it comes to financial transactions or contracts. But outside of that, we would be able to work with them,” she explained.

“We have ways of working around it. We’ve done it in other countries. So, it’s not a deal breaker in any way…We just wouldn’t be able to engage in any financial transactions with him,” the ambassador reaffirmed.

Mohamed’s party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), is poised to become the main political opposition – having secured more votes than the traditional opposition parties at Monday’s General and Regional Elections.

In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it sanctioned Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, as well as several of their companies.

The sanctions are related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports, noting that between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.

Prior to the elections, the US Ambassador had expressed concerns about Mohamed entering Parliament. 

“That’s a real concern” – US Ambassador warns of implications if sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed enters Parliament