GUYANA | GOVERNMENT TARGETS MOHAMED FAMILY AMID LOOMING U.S. SANCTIONS

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, April 5, 2025 - In what appears to be a calculated diversion from brewing international scandal, the PPP government of Guyana has deployed the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) against businessman Azzrudin Mohamed and his father Nazar Mohamed—a move critics describe as naked political intimidation against a potential challenger to the current administration.

While top government ministers reportedly face imminent U.S. sanctions for alleged money laundering, bribery, and gold smuggling, GRA agents conducted a weekend raid on the Mohamed family residence, seizing several luxury vehicles.

The agency claims the family owes over G$900 million in customs duties and taxes—approximately $1 million USD per vehicle—a figure that many observers suggest reflects political persecution rather than legitimate financial oversight.

"This is a blatant witch hunt," a Mohamed family spokesperson told local media. "The government should be spending their time resolving issues in education, healthcare and low public service salaries. Instead they are persecuting us."

The timing has raised eyebrows across Georgetown's political spectrum. Sources in Washington reveal the Trump administration possesses "convincing evidence" allegedly implicating several high-ranking PPP ministers in a complex corruption network that channels illicit funds from Guyana to the United States through Brazil.

These impending sanctions would strike at the heart of President Ali and Prime Minister Bharrat Jagdeo's inner circle, with one source emphasizing: "Regardless of what position you hold in the government, you will face sanctions!"

Adding to the administration's woes, reports indicate four individuals connected to the PPP regime were recently detained at New York's JFK Airport regarding suspicious financial transactions linked to these same alleged criminal enterprises.

Government officials have scrambled to downplay these developments, but the message from U.S. authorities appears unambiguous.

"The timing of this is no coincidence," noted a prominent political analyst. "The PPP government, already rattled by revelations of transnational criminal enterprise and facing sanctions that could freeze assets and block visas, is trying to redirect attention with a showy assault on a political rival."

The Mohamed family, respected for both their business ventures and community engagement, now finds itself center stage in this intensifying political drama.

Their apparent transgression? Representing a credible political threat to the PPP's grip on power, particularly with rumors of Azzrudin Mohamed's potential entry into the 2025 electoral race.

One opposition parliamentarian didn't mince words: "While Jagdeo and Ali's ministers are busy laundering millions through Brazil and scrambling to cover their tracks as U.S. sanctions loom, they turn the state machinery against political threats at home. The hypocrisy is staggering."

Sources close to the Mohamed family confirm they are pursuing legal remedies against what they characterize as targeted harassment designed to intimidate and undermine Azzrudin Mohamed's political prospects.

As international scrutiny intensifies and domestic pressure mounts, the PPP government appears to be retreating to familiar territory—weaponizing state institutions against perceived opponents rather than addressing the allegations that threaten to engulf the administration.

For all their confident pronouncements at media briefings, neither Jagdeo nor President Ali can escape the cloud of controversy now enveloping their government.

Their aggressive targeting of the Mohameds only underscores what many see as mounting fear within the administration—fear of accountability, fear of justice, and ultimately, fear of the Guyanese electorate.

As this story continues to unfold, one certainty remains: no amount of political theater or intimidation tactics will shield the PPP government from reckoning with these serious allegations, both domestically and internationally. And the citizens of Guyana are watching closely, with memories that will extend well beyond the next election cycle.

-30-