US yet to pass on to Guyana info on alleged tax evasion, gold smuggling – Jagdeo

Sep 09, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – Over a month after the Attorney General Anil Nandlall had written to the United States Department of Justice requesting information on the alleged gold smuggling and the sanction of three Guyanese citizens they are yet to get a response.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

This was disclosed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday during his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Robb Street. Responding to media queries Jagdeo told reporters:  “On the gold mining sector, too you’d recall we have asked for information from the US government about the gold smuggling because we don’t have that information and we have asked the US government to share the information. We have not received it as yet and you should ask the attorney general where it is at this point in time but we have not received it as yet,” he added.

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, had revealed on a recent episode of his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News’ that he has dispatched the requisite request to the United States Department of the Treasury for information on the sanctions imposed on two Guyanese businessmen and a senior government official. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Guyanese billionaire Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed on allegations of tax evasion and the then Permanent Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Labour, Mae Thomas for allegedly misusing her position to offer benefits, like government contracts to the Mohameds.

The AG had said, it is being alleged that these persons are accused by the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice, Criminal Division of committing a number of criminal offences in Guyana. “The Government of Guyana has already made it very clear that these grave allegations of criminal conduct will be thoroughly investigated by the relevant law enforcement agencies of the state and in this regard we have requested the information and the evidence etcetera that are in the possession of the American authorities and we did so under the relevant Treaty,” he explained.

Previously, Dr. Ashni K. Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service announced that the U.S. informed the government that the request for information must be sent by Guyana’s Attorney General to the U.S. Department of Justice, which will then work with OFAC to gather source documentation on the matter. “Our Government will now submit the request following the process advised. We will also continue to pursue, through the appropriate channel, the relevant information covered by the Tax Information Exchange Agreement. This Agreement provides for the exchange of information to administer and enforce laws concerning the taxes specified therein, to assure the accurate assessment and collection of taxes to prevent fiscal fraud and evasion, and to develop improved information sources for tax matters,” Dr. Singh said.

Following the sanctions handed down by OFAC, Dr. Singh and Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia wrote to the U.S. authorities seeking more information about the sanctions.

Dr. Singh wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury while the Commissioner General under the ambit of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Guyana and the US, has been in contact with the American authorities.

Moreover, United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot on June 14, 2024 on the sideline of an event at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, said the sanctions, are the result of over two and a half years of investigations by U.S. authorities. Ambassador Theriot highlighted the gravity of the offenses that led to these sanctions. She stated, “We reserve these types of sanctions for gross levels of corruption and human rights abuses.” Theriot went on to explain that, “it’s a very high bar, we do not do this lightly. This is something that we ensure that we have a preponderance of evidence before we’re ready to levy the sanctions and we had that in this case against the three individuals who were sanctioned.”

• gold, Government, Jagdeo, smuggling, US