The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) has strongly condemned what it describes as a blatant abuse of power by the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) government in Guyana. The organization alleges that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is being weaponized to intimidate businessman Azruddin Mohamed and his family due to his reported interest in contesting the 2025 presidential election.
According to a statement released by CGID, the government has directed the GRA to conduct an investigation into the finances of the Mohamed family, resulting in claims that the Mohameds owe approximately one billion Guyanese dollars in taxes. CGID characterized this move as a “gangster tactic” aimed at dissuading Mohamed from pursuing political office.
This latest controversy follows what CGID calls a “failed attempt” by the PPPC government to frame Azruddin Mohamed in a rape scandal last year. The organization claims that known PPPC operatives allegedly hired a teenage Amerindian girl to falsely accuse Mohamed of rape, an allegation that was later disproven and widely dismissed.
CGID has further accused Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo of personally directing the GRA’s actions against the Mohamed family, alleging that the investigation is a politically motivated attempt to undermine Mohamed’s growing support ahead of the 2025 elections. Recent polls reportedly show Mohamed polling evenly with President Irfaan Ali, a development that CGID claims has left the ruling party “scared to death.”
The statement goes on to call for nationwide condemnation of what CGID describes as the misuse of state resources to target political opponents. It argues that the GRA’s sudden tax claims against the Mohameds, allegedly related to luxury vehicle imports, are part of a broader pattern of using government agencies to suppress dissent. CGID also pointed to past cases in which law enforcement has been used to “manufacture evidence and false charges” against opposition figures both in Guyana and the diaspora.
The organization has now demanded that the GRA’s Commissioner General explain how the agency purportedly overlooked one billion dollars in taxes over the past four years. Additionally, it is calling for an explanation as to why the GRA is allegedly being used as an “election campaign tool” for the PPPC government.
In its statement, CGID warns that this alleged abuse of power sets a dangerous precedent, suggesting that any citizen could be similarly targeted for political reasons. The organization is urging all Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation, to stand against what it calls “this disgraceful, blatant abuse of power.”
“Guyana is not a PPPC-owned rum shop,” CGID stated. “It is a country that belongs to all Guyanese.”
The statement ends with a call to action for voters to remove the PPPC from office in the next election, arguing that such a step is necessary to “stop the theft of Guyana’s oil revenues and resources” and to put an end to what it describes as the government’s increasing authoritarianism.
As of now, the PPPC government and the GRA have not publicly responded to CGID’s allegations.
