GBTI Closes Accounts of Two WIN Nominees as Opposition Demands Answers

The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) is demanding answers after alleging that the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and another local bank have moved to close the accounts of Leola Narine and Leslyn Lowe, two WIN nominees selected by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed for appointment to the Local Government Commission.

In a statement dated September 18, WIN said the women had been selected through the statutory process for appointment to the Commission and were not accused of wrongdoing.

The party described the reported account closures as the latest development in a wider dispute over banking access for persons associated with WIN.

“Their selection to serve on a statutory commission should not result in financial punishment.”

The allegation comes months after a High Court ruling concerning GBTI’s closure of accounts belonging to four WIN-linked individuals.

On March 30, Justice Nicola Pierre found that GBTI had breached its implied contractual duty of good faith in terminating the accounts of Vanessa Bagot, Heerawattie Mangaldeen, Abdul Ally and Natalia Angela. The court found the bank had acted arbitrarily in exercising its contractual powers and awarded each applicant G$20,000 in damages and G$300,000 in costs. GBTI subsequently said it intended to appeal aspects of the decision.

The cases arose after U.S. sanctions were imposed on WIN leader Mohamed and others in June 2024. The Carter Center subsequently documented the closure of accounts belonging to WIN candidates, party members and associates, warning that excessive responses to sanctions could affect political participation. In its September 2025 preliminary statement, the Center said it had learned that more than 70 WIN candidates and people associated with the party had had personal accounts closed.

The Carter Center noted that U.S. sanctions applied to Mohamed and specified entities and individuals, while also reporting that the U.S. Embassy had stated that simply belonging to a party led by a sanctioned individual did not automatically trigger penalties.

The latest dispute also comes amid controversy over the composition of the Local Government Commission.

Under the Local Government Commission Act, three members are appointed by the President on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition after consultation with the other parliamentary parties. Mohamed submitted Narine and Lowe of WIN and Nicholas Chesney of the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM). The nominations were formally submitted in August following consultations.

APNU subsequently objected to the exclusion of its nominees, arguing that it should have representation on the Commission.

WIN is now asking whether banking restrictions are being applied disproportionately to people associated with the parliamentary Opposition.

“How many WIN candidates, Members of Parliament, officials, executives, nominees and ordinary citizens must lose access to basic banking services because of their association with the parliamentary Opposition?”

The party is calling on GBTI and the other bank to disclose the specific basis for terminating Narine and Lowe’s banking relationships.

WIN has also appealed to the diplomatic community, CARICOM, the United Nations, the Carter Center, the European Union and international human-rights organisations to scrutinise the issue.

“Serving your country must not cost you your bank account. Political participation must not result in financial exclusion, and association with the parliamentary Opposition must never become a basis for punishment.”

The banks have not, in the material available for this report, publicly stated why the two accounts were allegedly closed. Their responses will be critical to determining whether the decisions were based on individual risk assessments, regulatory considerations or other grounds.

WIN ended its statement by declaring:

“Guyana is a democracy. Opposition participation is not a crime.”