The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Party has accused local banks of engaging in “blatant political victimisation” after shutting down the accounts of several of its candidates, despite United States (U.S) sanctions regulators confirming the closures were unjustified.
On June 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, his son and WIN’s Presidential Candidate, Azruddin Mohamed, their company Mohamed’s Enterprise, and Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas Toussaint for alleged roles in public corruption.
In the aftermath, several Guyanese banks — including Demerara Bank, Citizens Bank, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, and the New Building Society — moved to close accounts belonging not just to Azruddin Mohamed, but also to other WIN candidates.
However, in a letter dated August 12, 2025, OFAC clarified that its sanctions apply only to Mohamed personally and do not extend to other WIN members or officials. The guidance explicitly states:
“U.S. financial institutions would not violate sanctions for maintaining the account of or processing a transaction involving a non-sanctioned organisation or non-sanctioned members of that organisation solely because another member of that organisation is sanctioned.”
WIN argues that despite this, local banks acted “outside the scope of U.S. regulations” and instead aligned their decisions with political interests. A wide cross-section of society also believes the account closures were instigated by the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which sees the young WIN movement as a growing electoral threat ahead of the September 1 General and Regional Elections.
“This overreach not only undermines the financial rights of ordinary citizens who chose to serve their country under the WIN banner, but also raises troubling questions about political interference in Guyana’s banking sector,” the party said in a statement.
WIN is demanding that the banks’ CEOs and boards reverse their decisions immediately, and it has called on the Bank of Guyana, the Private Sector Commission, and international observers to closely monitor the developments.
Hana Kamelia, WIN’s public relations personnel and sister of Mohamed, accused the banks of acting unlawfully:
“Closing their accounts was political victimisation, not compliance with U.S. law. Banks had NO legal grounds and must immediately restore these accounts as financial institutions must act in accordance with the official guidance from OFAC,” she said.
The party vowed to continue pressing for transparency, fairness, and equal opportunity, warning that the misuse of financial power to intimidate political candidates will not go unchallenged.
