President Dr. Irfaan Ali has issued a firm warning to gold producers engaged in under-declaring their production, asserting that the government will intensify efforts to close loopholes and combat significant revenue losses in the sector. Speaking at the opening ceremony of GuyExpo 2025, the President stated that the government will “come after you hard” to ensure full compliance with declaration requirements.
Dr. Ali highlighted the substantial economic impact of gold smuggling, citing a specific case where one smuggler’s actions allegedly resulted in over $190 billion in losses to the national economy. “Imagine from one gold smuggler alone, this economy lost more than $190 billion,” he remarked, emphasizing the urgency of addressing such issues.
He underscored the need for systemic changes to prevent future occurrences of smuggling, stating, “We must ensure our system does not produce those kinds of people anymore. The system must be designed to ensure these leakages are removed.” The President lamented that the funds lost to smuggling could have been utilized to support local small and medium enterprises and cash grant programs.
Dr. Ali’s comments come in the wake of ongoing legal challenges faced by prominent Guyanese businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed. The two individuals, linked to Mohamed’s Enterprise, have been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 11 charges, which include gold smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering.
In 2024, both men were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for their alleged involvement in corrupt practices and illicit gold trading. Extradition proceedings against the Mohameds are currently in progress, highlighting the government’s commitment to tackling corruption and illegal activities within the gold sector.
