Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has dismissed letters sent by the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party to international organizations, asserting that they lack significance.
During his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Thursday, Jagdeo remarked, “A vagrant can write the Secretary-General. Even Mad Max can write the Secretary-General. It doesn’t mean anything.” His comments followed the release of letters by WIN’s General Secretary Odessa Primus, addressed to CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
In the letters, WIN expressed concerns over several commercial banks closing the accounts of its members and candidates, claiming this amounts to discrimination and a violation of political rights. The party is urging the UN and CARICOM to publicly condemn the banks’ actions and to demand the reinstatement of accounts, as well as the deployment of observers to monitor the situation.
Jagdeo, however, maintained that international agencies would not be influenced by the letters. “The first thing they’ll do is Google—and they’ll see the Reuters report and tax evasion… You think these people will then tell a local bank or any bank in the world what to do?” he questioned.
The banks in question include the Bank of Nova Scotia, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), New Building Society (NBS), and Demerara Bank, all of which have reportedly terminated accounts or canceled loans for WIN members. Notably, Citizens Bank, which has also closed accounts linked to WIN, was not mentioned in the letters.
The closures come amidst increased compliance requirements under Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, which prohibit banks from facilitating transactions associated with sanctioned individuals or entities.
Azruddin Mohamed, the leader of WIN, along with his father Nazar and their businesses, were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in June 2024 for alleged gold smuggling, corruption, and other crimes. The sanctions have made financial institutions in Guyana particularly cautious, especially following past incidents where weak compliance led to severed correspondent banking relationships.
Jagdeo concluded by stating that the international community is unlikely to take WIN’s correspondence seriously, emphasizing, “Writing a letter doesn’t erase sanctions or history.”
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