-‘We want to safeguard our financial system’ says Jagdeo
The Bank of Guyana yesterday revoked the licence for Confidential Cambio which is owned by Nazar Mohamed, a move government says stems from the sanctions imposed on the Mohameds by the United States on Tuesday.
“Members of the Public are hereby advised of the revocation of the licence of Confidential Cambio situated at Lot 29 Lombard Street Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown in accordance with the Dealers in Foreign Currency (Licensing) Act 1989. As a consequence, the entity is no longer authorized to conduct the business of buying and selling of foreign currency,” the bank said in a notice to the public yesterday.
Confidential Cambio is a part of the Mohamed’s Enterprise which is situated on Lombard Street, Georgetown.
While the bank did not provide a reason for the revocation, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told a press conference that the revocation was a result of Tuesday’s US sanctions. He also added that Guyana’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Bank of Guyana would be conducting an assessment of the implications of Washington’s sanctions on Guyana’s financial sector.
Jagdeo said that the Mohameds’ sanctions expose the local banks to them and the repercussions that come from the sanctions, as such this was a safeguard. “We want to safeguard our financial system that would mean, exposure of our banks to the Mohameds, and any other matter that may have a direct bearing of a financial nature on our system, because we are obligated to do so under the sanctions,” he said.
The United States Department of the Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on businessmen Nazar Mohamed and son, Azruddin Mohamed over the alleged massive smuggling of gold, while Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas, was cited for alleged corruption leading to her being immediately sent on leave by the government here.
Allegations against the Mohameds include defrauding the government here of some US$50 million in royalties and taxes from smuggled gold, as well as bribing public officials.
Regarding Toussaint Jr Thomas, it said that she used her office while serving at the Ministry of Home Affairs, to offer benefits to the Mohameds that included contracts, licences for weapons, and passports.
Neither the Mohameds nor Toussaint Jr Thomas has commented on the allegations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department – designated Azruddin Mohamed and Mohamed’s Enterprise “for being persons who have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery, that is conducted by a foreign person.”
OFAC also designated Nazar Mohamed as being “a foreign person who is or has been a leader or official of Mohamed’s Enterprise, an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13818, as a result of activities related to Nazar’s tenure.”
OFAC instituted the sanctions, as it referenced the Global Magnitsky Program, part of that country’s law that authorises the US government to sanction foreign government officials worldwide that are human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the US.
OFAC states that it is responsible for developing and implementing foreign policy-related sanctions adopted to counter threats to national security posed by particular activities and countries and plays a primary role in administering and enforcing many US sanctions programmes.
In coordination with the US Department of State, OFAC issues licences, where appropriate, for a variety of goods, services and transactions.
“Additionally, OFAC designated two other entities, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing Team, for being owned or controlled by Mohamed’s Enterprise and Azruddin, respectively. These individuals and entities are 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,” it added.
Now that the trio are under sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to them that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department.
And if they have more than 50 per cent interest in any other company, then those entities fall under the same sanctioning regime.
United States citizens and companies are now also prohibited from doing any transactions with the trio along with financial institutions globally, as they expose themselves for similar sanctions.
Jagdeo said that while some critics of his government and party have opined that they are either witch hunting the Mohameds or protecting them, none of the theories is the truth. “We are neither witch-hunting the Mohameds nor are we protecting the Mohameds,” he said.
He explained that the Mohameds, like every other citizen of this country have the right of due process and that they have the option of also approaching the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and providing evidence to contrary to the claims made, thus clearing their names and asking for it to be removed from the sanctions list.
