Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC says that the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has acknowledged Guyana’s request for information related to sanctions imposed on businessmen Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin, and Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr. Thomas.
However, the Attorney General indicated that obtaining the requested details will take some time.
In June, the government was advised by Washing-ton that any information concerning the sanctions against the Mohamed family and Toussaint Jr. Thomas would need to be obtained through the DoJ.
Following the sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 11, the Guyanese government contacted U.S. authorities to request information that would support its investigation into the affected individuals. These requests were sent by Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godfrey Statia under the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) between Guyana and the U.S.
The TIEA allows for the exchange of information to enforce tax laws, prevent fraud, and ensure accurate tax assessments. The government anticipates that both the mutual legal assistance process and the TIEA will enable timely and effective information sharing.
Singh emphasized that the government will continue to work diligently with U.S. counterparts to resolve this matter swiftly.
The sanctions under the US Magnitsky Act created a furore here and underlined that Washington was looking closely at major players allegedly involved in corruption. Use of the Magnitsky Act usually denotes very serious concerns about the targets.
On June 11, the United States Department of The Treasury imposed sanctions on the Mohameds over the alleged massive smuggling of gold. 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 taxes from smuggled gold, as well as bribing public officials.
For Toussaint Jr Thomas’s part, 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 had said anything though they had previously denied involvement in illegalities following varying allegations.
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.”
As for Toussaint Jr Thomas, OFAC designated her as being “a foreign person who is a current or former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, 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.”
On June 14, United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot said that the investigation leading to the sanctioning of the Mohameds and Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr. Thomas was more than two years in the making and that information could not be provided to anyone here lest it be compromised.
“These sanctions were two and a half years plus of investigations ongoing in the United States. We reserve these type of sanctions for gross levels of corruption and human rights abuses,” the Ambas-sador told reporters at the US Embassy, Georgetown, on the sidelines of a press conference held by United States Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Bonnie Jenkins.
