The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has joined Demerara Bank in terminating accounts linked to candidates of the emerging We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party, led by presidential hopeful Azruddin Mohamed. The move has triggered a firestorm of criticism and renewed allegations of political interference in Guyana’s financial and electoral systems.
Several WIN candidates reportedly received formal notices informing them that their accounts would be closed and access to banking services discontinued. According to reports, the closures are being justified on the basis of compliance with international banking regulations—specifically Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) protocols.
However, critics question the timing and validity of these actions, noting that the U.S. sanctions placed on Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, relate to alleged gold smuggling—not money laundering or terrorism financing.
According to a statement posted June 12, 2024, on the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, “Azruddin and Mohamed’s Enterprise evaded Guyana’s tax on gold exports and defrauded the Guyanese government of tax revenues by under-declaring their gold exports to Guyanese authorities. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the government of Guyana.”
Nowhere in the U.S. charge is there mention of money laundering or terrorism financing. Furthermore, the Government of Guyana has not accused the Mohameds of either crime—even while previously awarding them multibillion-dollar state contracts before the political fallout.
The banking crackdown comes in the wake of controversial comments by U.S. Ambassador Nicole Theriot, who recently declared that the U.S. would be “concerned” if Azruddin Mohamed were to be elected. Her remarks were echoed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall on his Issues in the News programme, where he warned that a sanctioned individual sitting in Guyana’s National Assembly could trigger sweeping penalties.
“If he’s elected, he becomes part of the government,” Nandlall stressed. “And there are going to be repercussions. That is a fact.”
Ironically, the U.S. itself recently elected Donald Trump as president—despite his May 2024 conviction on 34 felony charges, making him the first former U.S. president to be criminally convicted.
In contrast, Mohamed has not been tried in any court. There has been no legal process in Guyana or the United States that has determined his guilt or issued a formal penalty. Many Guyanese see the current campaign against him not as a matter of law, but a direct attempt to sway the democratic process and suppress emerging political alternatives.
Public frustration is mounting over what is widely viewed as foreign overreach and domestic complicity. Voters say it appears the U.S. is attempting to dictate Guyana’s election outcome by influencing public sentiment and constraining Mohamed’s ability to participate freely in the political process.
Some observers note the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) appears more preoccupied with discrediting WIN than challenging the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). That strategic focus signals Mohamed’s rising movement is rattling the establishment, threatening to fracture the PPP’s traditional base and siphon votes it has long presumed secure.
The implications go far beyond party politics. What’s unfolding is a fundamental test of Guyana’s democracy—whether financial systems and foreign pressure will be weaponised to silence dissent and limit political choice. The nation stands at a crossroads, and what happens next may define not just the outcome of an election, but the integrity of the Republic itself.
