Jagdeo debunks Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed’s ‘gross misrepresentation’ of US sanctions

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly refuted claims made by local businessman Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed and his associates regarding the United States sanctions imposed on them, warning against the spread of misinformation and political manipulation.

Addressing the matter during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo criticised Mohamed’s attempt to misrepresent the situation, stating, “you were sanctioned for massive corruption.”

The controversy was sparked after Mohamed, who along with family members were sanctioned by the US government for alleged tax under-declaration, accused the Guyanese government of unfair treatment towards them.

Speaking on the Team Mohamed Facebook page recently, Mohamed accused the government of preventing his family from doing business in Guyana.

However, Jagdeo dismissed these arguments as an attempt to downplay the severity of the sanctions.

“You were sanctioned for massive corruption…we didn’t impose the sanctions,” he said, also refuting insinuations that the government is threatened by potential political aspirations of Mohamd’s son Azzrudin.

“There’s space for everyone in this country, even in the political environment. And people are free to run. But don’t try to present false reasons. They’re worried about the US sanction. They’re hoping to get out of it. And they believe going into politics, like others, would shield them from maybe what’s coming. But we didn’t start this.”

The vice president went on to clarify that government’s refusal to work with the Mohamed is not a targeted attack but steps taken to protect Guyana’s integrity.

“We are never going to put the interest of a signal individual particularly if you’re accused of doing something so illegal that you bring sanctions of the United States government down on your own head, we must put the country at risk?… Just imagine our banks if they continue allowing the Mohameds to have an account to do business with them. They could be subjected to US sanctions. You know what that mean, losing any connection with the American financial system and losing corresponding banking relations.”

Jagdeo also debunked suggestions that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is involved in any assassination threats against Azruddin Mohamed, calling such claims a blatant attempt to garner public sympathy.

He also urged Nazar Mohamed to publicly disclose any evidence he may have and report it to the police, and warned the public against falling for misinformation, reaffirming that government will not be intimidated by individuals seeking to manipulate the political landscape to their advantage.

“So, the father said that he somewhere, he heard about some issue of that his son may be assassinated. This is like just to give him profile as though the PPP sees him as a threat, implying that it’s the PPP, but he left it deliberately vague. So, he needs to go public to the father and say, who is trying to assassinate his son? He needs to put it, send it to the police force, go and make a report now so that there’d be a report as to who”.

On Tuesday, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) decided not to renew cabotage permission for foreign flagged ships linked to Hadi’s World, one of the companies operated by the Mohammed’s, over United States (US) sanctions.

MARAD explained that this decision which effectively revokes previous permission granted to ships that provide services to the Mohammed’s enterprises, was made due to Mohammed’s sanction by Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced that it sanctioned members of one of Guyana’s wealthiest families, Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, several of their companies, and a Guyanese Government official, Mae Thomas, for their roles in alleged public corruption in Guyana.

According to a statement from OFAC, this is 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 $50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.

Subsequently, Nazar Mohamed resigned as a Councillor for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on one of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) while Thomas resigned from her post of Permanent Secretary and also as a member of the party.

As the Government awaits feedback from the US on the matter, Mohamed’s Enterprise Cambio licence was suspended while all Government agencies have stopped conducting business with the Mohameds and their related companies.