Gold trader, now turned Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed declared in the National Assembly on Friday night that he bankrolled the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) during its years in opposition.
There has been no reaction from the ruling party to this allegation which was made in the presence of senior party leaders.
Speaking during the budget debate, Mohamed asserted that financing provided by him and his family assisted the PPP/C during the period prior to its return to government in 2020.
“Back in 2018 … I use to bankroll the PPP,” he said, adding elsewhere in his remarks that from 2015 to 2020 the PPP “benefited the most from my business.” He also stated that he had assisted both major political parties in his capacity as a businessman. The General Secretary of the PPP at the time was former President Bharrat Jagdeo. He remains in that position. Jagdeo was at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on the day that Mohamed made the claim on the floor of Parliament but did contribute to the debate.
For years, it has been publicly stated by people close to the Mohameds that financing had gone to the PPP. Friday, however, was the first time the statement had been made in the highest law-making body of the land.
The remark by Mohamed came as the businessman is currently facing extradition proceedings initiated by the United States. In June 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Mohamed, his father Nazar Mohamed, and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise. U.S. authorities alleged that between 2019 and 2023 the company under-declared more than 10,000 kilograms of gold exports, resulting in the evasion of over US$50 million in taxes owed to the Guyanese state.
Domestically, Mohamed had also faced action by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) relating to the importation of a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster SVJ. The GRA alleged that a false invoice was submitted undervaluing the vehicle at US$76,000, while information obtained through international cooperation indicated a purchase price of US$695,000. The discrepancy led to accusations of fraudulent evasion and false declarations under the Customs Act, forming part of a broader probe into luxury vehicle imports by Mohamed and his family, with additional taxes assessed at nearly GYD $900 million.
Charges that were brought here were later dropped to enable the US extradition proceedings.
Mohamed has claimed that President Irfaan Ali had been aware of difficulties he was having at the GRA with the clearing of the Lamborghini and that he had sought assistance from the President.
The claim of the financing of the PPP would be awkward for the ruling party given the 11-count indictment facing Mohamed. It would raise questions as to how long that relationship had existed and whether the ruling party while in office had turned a blind eye to questionable transactions involving the Mohameds.
Mohamed’s claim would also underscore the issue of the financing of political parties and the absence of the requisite legislation.
The senior Mohamed had been a candidate for the PPP in Eccles at the last local government elections but quit the position after the US indictment.
During his presentation on Friday, Mohamed also raised concerns about foreign currency availability and gold sector reporting, claiming that significant sums were leaving the banking system. “An average of US$2 billion [is] leaking out of our banking system,” he said, arguing that access to foreign currency has tightened and contributing to increases in the cost of living. He further claimed that during the period when he was active in gold trading, banks frequently relied on him to supply US currency.
