Guyana Chronicles Reports : The New Building Society (NBS) has begun severing ties with candidates from the U.S.-sanctioned political party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), following similar actions by three other banks in the country. This move aligns with the banks’ standard risk assessment procedures under Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
Sources indicate that the accounts of 12 individuals associated with WIN, including a U.S. citizen leading the party’s campaign, have been affected. Citizen Bank, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), and Demerara Bank have also closed personal accounts belonging to several WIN candidates.
Candidates Natasha Singh-Lewis and Duarte Hetsberger confirmed receiving letters from their banks stating that the closures were due to internal policies of the banking institutions.
In August of last year, the Bank of Guyana announced that all banks in the country had closed accounts associated with the Mohamed family and their businesses following U.S. sanctions for alleged public corruption.
On June 11, 2024, Azruddin Mohamed, along with his father Nazar Mohamed and their businesses—including Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World, and Team Mohamed’s Racing—were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The OFAC stated that Azruddin and his enterprise evaded taxes on gold exports and defrauded the Guyanese government by under-declaring their gold exports, avoiding over $50 million in duty taxes between 2019 and 2023.
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