Sidestepping questions on the reported assistance he provided to businessman turned Presidential Candidate Azruddin Mohamed in the clearance of a luxury sports car back in 2020, President Irfaan Ali on Thursday night said Mohamed continues to be duplicitous with his claims of receiving the President’s help and evading taxes.

Earlier this week, the businessman who was sanctioned a year ago by the US along with his father and Government Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas, released messages he had with the President about the importation of the vehicle and the taxes to be paid. He said the President responded to him via phone in several of their conversations, claiming that the President assisted in the clearance of the vehicle by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

In response, the President claims that he was never provided with the true invoice of the car and says he directed the businessman to the Guyana Revenue Authority.

“I don’t have any authority on taxes. Any citizen could raise any issue with me. Those matters are forwarded to the relevant agencies. The agency is what makes decisions. And if a document is falsified and brought to an agency or sent to anyone, then what do you do. We have to wait until we get the full and correct document, which is what we have now and is what the United States Government has shared”, the President said.

The President dismissed the video release by Azruddin Mohamed of their WhatsApp chat messages, saying that there was really no engagement taking place between the two.

“Did you see any engagement there? This guy is also claiming that he is not sanctioned. This guy is claiming that he did not evade taxes when the evidence is clear before him. The duplicity and dishonesty, I will not be part of that. This guy can claim whatever he wants but the truth is glaring before him”, President Ali said.

Azruddin Mohamed was recently charged by the Guyana Revenue Authority for allegedly making a false declaration in the importation of the car and evading taxes. Mohamed has maintained his innocence of the charges and has insisted that the GRA’s move is part of the governing party’s political victimization of him over his decision to seek political office.

He said the message exchanges between him and the President on WhatsApp over the importation of the vehicle and the taxes to be paid makes it clear that the President was not only aware of the importation of the high priced vehicle, but also assisted in its clearance.

The messages released by Mr. Mohamed showed that just one month after the President took office, he (Mohamed) reached out to him questioning whether if he were to pay $50 million in taxes for the importation of the vehicle, if he would still face a “fight down” from the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godfrey Statia. He said the President called him directly in response to that query and claims that the President told him that he wanted to pay too much.

The Guyana Revenue Authority has claimed that even the $50 million was too little, and Mohamed should have paid more than $300 million in taxes for the importation of the car.

The public claims by Mohamed and the President’s response have caught the attention of Transparency Group, which questioned the President’s interaction on tax matters, urging him to come clean on his involvement.

President Ali has dismissed the concerns of the Transparency group.

“Transparency International Guyana is a fake organisation. It is an organisation that is political. It’s an organisation that has no transparency in itself, let me start by saying that. But I have spoken on this matter and I have issued a statement and there is absolutely nothing that I am going to add on it”, the President told reporters.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday also dismissed the claims about the President’s involvement and assistance offered to the sanctioned businessman.

Mr. Jagdeo said the President did not have any clue about the businessman’s alleged acts of tax evasion.

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