Guyana's Government Says It Has Received Information of Alleged Tax Evasion By Two Guyanese Nationals

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana's government says it has received information on the alleged multi-million dollar tax evasion by two Guyanese nationals and their company in the export of more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold.

Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin MohamedAttorney General Anil Nandlall, said the United States, which in June last year had imposed  sanctions against  businessman Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son Azruddin, had provided the information.

“The DOJ (Department of Justice) has responded and that is what I’m saying. We’ve received a large volume of information,” he Nandlall said, adding that the information had been provided at the Guyana government’s request, setting the stage for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and law enforcement agencies to take action based on the “sufficient volume of evidence, information, data, documents”.

The  Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June last year, said the sanctions had been imposed on the Mohameds, their company as well as designating two other entities, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing Team, for being owned or controlled by Mohamed’s Enterprise and Azruddin, respectively.

In addition, the US had also named the then permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Mae Thomas

The US authorities say gold is one of Guyana’s main exports, but it remains a highly fractured industry with small-scale gold mining operations in Guyana occupying a majority share of the country’s gold production.

It said these small, family-owned businesses have informal relationships with larger purchasers and traders like Mohamed’s Enterprise and that “once mined, Guyanese gold is sold and traded throughout international markets, including the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union.

Nandlall said that he expects the GRA to take action on tax evasion and the police would also be taking action within its remit.

“They are going to act. They have formally communicated that to the Government of Guyana and I presume that they will act any time now,” he said, adding that Washington and Georgetown were continuing to exchange information on the allegations.

“The process is still ongoing and we are supplying information and they are supplying information,” he said.