GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The United States on Wednesday denied seeking to determine the outcome of the September 1 general and regional elections even as it maintained its position regarding the candidacy of the political leader of the We Invest Party (WIN) party Azruddin Mohamed.
The billionaire businessman is one of six candidates contesting the position of president during the elections. The others are the incumbent, President Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Aubrey Norton of the main coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Nigel Hughes of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and the leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr. Simona Broomes.
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Mohamed, had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June 2024 for allegedly evading US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana Government.
“We have absolutely no interest in interfering in your elections. I was asked the question, I gave the facts, as I understand them as they are published on our Department of Treasury website,” said the US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot.
The government has denied any involvement in the matter even as President Ali said last weekend that “more young people will receive letters of closures of their accounts from other banks”.
Last month, the Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), confirmed that they had closed the close the bank accounts of several persons who are associated with Mohamed’s party.
The American diplomat also sought to distance her government saying “the decision by the banks where was entirely independent. We were not consulted, we were not asked.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador said she does not believe Guyana will be included in a list of countries whose citizens would now be required to pay a US$15,000 refundable bond before visiting the United States.
“Currently, Guyana is not included on that list. It does not apply to Guyanese citizens applying for a visa,” she told reporters, noting that barring the fact that she has not checked recently, Guyana’s overstay rate is “not very high.
“In my opinion, it’s not problematic in that sense,” she said even as she advised that “anything can change but I’ll be very surprised”.
