In what critics are calling a brazen abuse of state power and a desperate attempt at deflection, the embattled PPP government of Guyana has unleashed the full weight of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) against prominent businessman Azzrudin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, even as top government ministers themselves face the heat of looming U.S. sanctions for money laundering, bribery, and gold smuggling.
Earlier today, GRA agents descended on the home of the Mohamed family in a dramatic operation aimed at seizing several luxury vehicles. The agency claims the family owes over G$900 million in customs duties and taxes, a figure that appears less rooted in financial propriety and more in political persecution. Assessing more than $1 million USD per vehicle in duties and taxes only makes the Trump administration’s point about ridiculous taxes assessed by the Guyana government, especially on items routed through or sourced in the United States.
Sources close to the Mohamed family confirmed they are seeking legal recourse, asserting that the actions by the GRA are nothing short of targeted harassment, designed to punish and intimidate Azzrudin Mohamed over his rumoured entry into the 2025 electoral race.
“This is a blatant witch hunt,” said Azzrudin Mohamed family, speaking with a local reporter. “the government should be spending their time resolving issues in education, healthcare and low public service salaries. Instead they are persecuting us”
One member of the parliamentary opposition shared that, “While Jagdeo and Ali’s ministers are busy laundering millions through Brazil and scrambling to cover their tracks as U.S. sanctions loom, they turn the state machinery against political threats at home.” The hypocrisy is staggering.
Only yesterday, credible Washington sources revealed that the Trump administration has in its possession “convincing evidence” implicating several top PPP ministers and government officials in a sprawling web of corruption — including money laundering operations that funnel illicit funds from Guyana to the United States through Brazil. The sanctions under consideration are expected to hit hard, with one source stating unequivocally: “Regardless of what position you hold in the government, you will face sanctions!”
Even more damning, reports have surfaced that four individuals linked to the PPP regime were arrested upon arrival at JFK Airport in New York, in connection to financial transactions tied to these very same criminal networks. While government spin doctors scramble to downplay the incident, the message from U.S. law enforcement is clear: the PPP’s free ride is over.
Faced with this tightening international noose, the PPP has resorted to its oldest playbook, intimidate domestic critics to distract from its own mounting scandals.
The Mohamed family, well known for its business ventures and respected community work, has now been thrust into the center of this political storm. Their real “crime”? Being perceived as a viable political force, capable of shaking the PPP’s stranglehold on power.
“The timing of this is no coincidence,” said a political observer. “The PPP government, already rattled by revelations of transnational criminal enterprise and facing sanctions that could freeze assets and block visas, is trying to redirect attention with a showy assault on a political rival.” But the people of Guyana are watching, and they are not fooled.
At a time when the government should be confronting its own internal rot and responding to the deepening crisis of legitimacy, it instead chooses to weaponize public institutions against citizens. This is not governance; this is gangsterism masquerading as leadership.
For all their bravado at press conferences, neither Bharrat Jagdeo nor President Irfaan Ali can escape the stench of scandal that now clings to their administration like a shadow. Their desperate attacks on the Mohameds and other perceived opponents only serve to highlight their fear, fear of accountability, fear of justice, and most of all, fear of the electorate.
As international investigators close in, and as Guyanese citizens demand answers, one thing is certain: no amount of harassment or political theatrics will shield the PPP government from the consequences of its actions. The wheels of justice are turning, both at home and abroad. And the people of Guyana? They are watching, and they will remember.
