Time for the truth- PPP/C or the Mohameds

Apr 14, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

The law, in almost every case, may be slow, deliberate, and patient, but always it surely wins out. I thought of this as I scanned the news of “Unpaid $1.2B taxes (as) Judge blocks GRA from seizing Mohameds’ luxury vehicles until ruling on tax evasion case.” As per law, this is the way, even though some may feel that ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’ Overall, the law must follow due process.

Let me now make some general statements, as I want all of us to be cognizant of what is really happening in Guyana, regarding the High Court’s issuing “… an interim interlocutory injunction barring the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) from seizing several high-end luxury vehicles owned by prominent businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, pending a full judicial review of the agency’s $1.2 billion tax evasion claim.”

First, we need to understand how serious and broad-based this matter is, as ‘tax evasion’ and ‘tax fraud’ involve falsifying records and claims, purposely not reporting income, inflating expenses, and claiming a fraudulent refund or benefit, etc. Thus, if and when convicted of tax evasion, the guilty must still pay the full amount of taxes owing, plus interest and any civil penalties assessed by the governing body. Also, the convicted ones may be fined up to 200% of the taxes evaded and may end up with a jail term of up to five years. These ‘tax’ issues are not to be trifled with. The clarion call then is that during this limbo reprieve, as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) appeals the Court’s order, no one can afford to play silly politics.

As per the news, it is that Attorney-at-Law Siand Dhurjon, representing the Mohamed family, confirmed that Justice Gino Persaud extended an initial restraining order and granted further legal protection for the Mohamed’s vehicles—including a Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Roadster and two Toyota Land Cruisers, until a substantive hearing on May 15, 2025.” The touchy part that most people are not paying attention to is that “The injunctions will last until the hearing and determination of the substantive matter. (And what is this?) It is the filing by Siand Dhurjon to quash the assessments and to prohibit any seizure or other enforcement action.” That is a very tall order, and here is why I say this.

For one, it is time to take the People’s Progressive Party/Civic out of this. This is purely legal, and pointing fingers at the said PPP/C will not gain currency, nor will it sway a candid court hearing, especially if this reaches the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). As it stands now, the court’s ruling ‘temporarily’ is halting the GRA’s efforts to seize the vehicles. These vehicles, according to the GRA, were imported under false declarations and breaches of the re-migrant scheme, a programme designed to grant tax exemptions to eligible returning residents.

Team Mohamed will have to rebuff, as the GRA has emphatically stated that it has “…  irrefutable evidence of the said breaches, and the understatement of values of the other vehicles, and will vigorously defend the said matters presently before the Court.”  After all, in court issues, ‘evidence’ is what matters in the end. Furthermore, the GRA elaborated that “… efforts to resolve the matter amicably had included three letters and direct email outreach, all of which went unanswered.”

Editor, I reinforce that this stand-off is a serious one. We are talking about unpaid taxes for vehicles to the tune of $479.7 million for a 2020 Ferrari; $371.7 million for a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster; $320 million for a 2023 Rolls-Royce; $61.4 million for a 2023 Range Rover, and $24.6 million each for two Toyota Land Cruisers, pushing the total close to $1.2 billion. No wonder then that there was the much-publicized stand-off at the Mohamed family’s Houston, Greater Georgetown residence. On that occasion, GRA officers, accompanied by police ranks, attempted to seize the vehicles, explaining that this ensued after months of failed negotiations and repeated notices. However, they were met by a hostile mob that blocked the entrance with other vehicles, forcing officers to retreat.

On this note, I say to the Mohameds to arm themselves with their evidence. In court, they will not be able to oppose physically. They will need legal expertise and actual evidence to thwart GRA. We are talking a legal battle, after which, irrespective of the ruling, there is still the looming aura of the findings of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in relation to the Mohamed’s evasion of taxes on gold exports, where between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations, and avoided paying more than US$50 million (over $10 billion Guyana dollars) in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.

Yours truly,

Hargesh B. Singh

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