Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has announced that he will be writing to the US Department of Justice by the end of this week to seek information regarding the recent US sanctions against The Mohameds and their businesses and Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas.

Last week the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh received a correspondence from the US government informing him that the Attorney General should communicate with the US Department of Justice utilizing the Mutual Assistance Act in seeking information about the sanctions.

On his television programme last evening, the Attorney General said he will be dispatching that correspondence this week.

“I have not commenced that course of communication as yet and I expect to do so before the end of this week,” the AG said during his weekly Issues in the News programme.

The Government will also continue to pursue its efforts to gather information through the Tax Information Exchange Agreement.

The Agreement provides for the exchange of information to administer and enforce laws concerning the taxes specified, to assure the accurate assessment and collection of taxes to prevent fiscal fraud and evasion, and to develop improved information sources for tax matters.

In addition to the mutual legal assistance process, the Government also expects that the arrangements in place for exchange of tax information and cooperation between tax authorities will provide a means through which relevant information can be shared on matters of this nature in a timely and effective manner.

Following the actions taken on June 11 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to sanction the Guyanese businessmen and the Permanent Secretary, the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Finance and the Guyana Revenue Authority wrote to the US Treasury Department requesting relevant information in relation to the sanctions.

The Mohameds were sanctioned over their alleged under-declaration of gold and the evasion of more than US$50 Million in local taxes, while Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas was sanctioned over her alleged involvement in a bribery scheme linked to the Mohameds, and also her alleged role in protecting them from criminal prosecution and investigation, according to the US report.

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