Demerara Bank cuts ties with candidates of US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed – INews Guyana
Demerara Bank Limited has closed the personal accounts of at least two candidates from the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, whose presidential candidate and financier is United States-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed.
The candidates are Duarte Hetsberger and Natasha Singh-Lewis.
The candidates say no explanation was provided, other than the financial institution citing “internal policies”.
On Tuesday, this publication contacted Chief Executive Officer of Demerara Bank Dowlat Parbhu, who refused to comment and or release specific details on the situation.
But in an exclusive interview with Demerara Waves Online, Parbhu revealed that the decision was made to ensure the bank complies with regulations of the international financial sector as it relates to sanctioned individuals.
He was quoted by the publication stating “I don’t think it should be unclear. If they had read all the provisions of international compliance legislation and protocol dealing with an individual that was sanctioned by OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), then they should be very clear. If those who are interested go and read it, they will find the reason why Demerara Bank had to take such a decision”.
He further explained that the decision was taken in light of the bank’s risk assessment. Parbhu declined to say how many accounts had been affected by the decision.
“Anybody, who has a relationship that poses a compliance risk with the bank, we have an obligation under the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) legislation to take action and de-risk, and that comes with international correspondent bank guidelines,” he added.
In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it sanctioned Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, as well as several of their companies.
The sanctions are related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports, noting that between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
