[ad_1]
– U.S. Ambassador confirms; strongly supports and recommends release of requested information to Guyanese authorities
US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot said a recommendation had been sent to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in Washington to share information on the recent sanctions imposed on Mohammed and government official May Thomas.
Responding to the Guyana Government’s concerns, Ambassador Theriault disclosed on Thursday that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and the Guyana Revenue Authority Commissioner, Godfrey Statia, had requested documents used to build the case that led to the sanctions.
In this context, she strongly advocated for providing as much information as possible to assist Guyana’s internal investigation.
“I immediately forwarded this request to the Department of Finance, which is the umbrella for this investigation, and I again strongly encouraged them to share as much unclassified evidence as they could or could share.
“We want to have a good partnership with the Guyana government and we want them to be able to use this information and do what they need to do,” she said.
In response to why the Government of Guyana was kept in the dark during the investigation, Ambassador Theriault clarified that such confidentiality was standard procedure to prevent any influence on the investigation.
“My understanding is that … they have to maintain a high level of confidentiality around these investigations because anyone could leak those findings. So we tend not to share a lot of information until we’re a certain stage in the investigation.
“I’m sorry that people feel like they’re being kept in the dark, but that’s just … if we were doing an investigation in the United States against someone who was accused of corruption, it would be exactly the same,” she said.
On Tuesday, OFAC sanctioned father and son Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed, their company Mohamed’s Enterprise, and Ministry of Labour (MoL) Permanent Secretary (PS) Mae Thomas for their alleged involvement in public corruption.
Officials here then wrote to the U.S. ambassador, asking for information gathered during the two-and-a-half-year investigation.
“I think it’s very important that the Guyanese government has this information so that they can take the next steps,” Ambassador Theriault said.
According to the US ambassador, the investigation has been kept strictly confidential to avoid leaking secrets.
Speaking on the matter at a press conference in the Office of the President, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said the allegations against the three Guyanese nationals by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will be taken extremely seriously.
According to Vice President Jagdeo, the Central Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have been tasked with preparing a report outlining the impact of the sanctions on Guyana’s financial system.
“We want to preserve our financial system,” he said firmly, adding: “The central bank has informed us that they have told the Mohammed family that they will cancel their exchange license because it is part of the financial system.”
In its statement, OFAC stressed that gold is one of Guyana’s major exports, but the industry remains a highly fragmented sector, with small-scale gold mining in Guyana accounting for the majority of the country’s gold production.
Mohammed’s conversion license has now been revoked, while PS Thomas has been suspended. She has also resigned from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) central committee.
The statement from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control noted that between 2019 and 2023, the company evaded more than $50 million in tariffs by underreporting gold exports by more than 10,000 kilograms.
Ambassador Theriault stressed the United States’ support for Guyana in addressing the serious allegations and pledged a transparent exchange of information and continued partnership between the two countries.
“I made it very clear in my request that we want to be able to share as much information as possible because we want to be very transparent. The Government of Guyana has been very transparent with us and we want to reciprocate,” she affirmed.
[ad_2]
Source link
