At an informative press conference led by WIN Campaign Manager Odessa Primus, the WIN party condemned Demerara Bank for what they described as politically motivated account closures targeting WIN candidates, including Duarte Hetsberger and Natasha Singh. Primus confirmed that multiple WIN candidates received similar account termination letters, with no explanation provided.
Primus stated that the bank appeared to be using addresses pulled from the official WIN candidate list, addresses not listed in the bank’s own records, suggesting targeted political surveillance or data sharing. She made it clear, the only common denominator among the affected individuals was their affiliation with WIN.
WIN firmly rejected any implied connection between their candidates and US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, saying the bank’s actions could not be justified under Guyana’s legal banking framework. “The Muhammads don’t even have a bank account at Demerara Bank,” Primus said. “These WIN candidates have no business ties to them.”
She described the bank’s actions as “disrespectful, unprofessional, and bullyism,” and announced that she had already begun consultations with legal counsel and would explore both individual and joint legal action.
In a powerful moment, Primus declared;
“If one of our team member’s money is not good enough for Demerara Bank, then none of our money is. We will remove all of it. And we will consider whether we will do business with any company affiliated with them.”
She also claimed the action revealed the ruling PPP government’s fear of WIN’s growing political strength.
“If WIN was a nobody, the state wouldn’t be weaponized against us,” she said. “We are a force to be reckoned with.” Primus added that WIN had no fear heading into the upcoming election and confirmed that their manifesto launch would happen “very shortly.” She slammed the PPP for failing to deliver on their previous manifesto and criticized the two major parties for escaping similar scrutiny.
The press conference also referenced a separate incident involving WIN supporter, Superintendent of GuySuCo’s Albion Estate, Safraaz Birbal, who was allegedly victimized, which the party interpreted as part of a broader PPP strategy to intimidate dissent.
