Last Updated on Saturday, 12 September 2026, 8:10 by Writer
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Friday virtually ruled out the granting of a boat captain licence to city businessman Azruddin Mohamed because he has been sanctioned by the United States (U.S.) for alleged financial crimes.
“Any responsible public authority dealing with a sanctioned person must, therefore, carefully consider the legal, financial, banking, contractual and compliance consequences of any proposed transaction. MARAD would, therefore, be extraordinarily reckless as the national regulatory maritime agency to issue a licence to anyone of such sanctioned character,” the agency said in a statement.
Mr Mohamed and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, are currently battling a U.S. extradition request to face trial for alleged wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.
They were indicted by a U.S. grand jury more than one year after they were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for alleged evasion of more than US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana government on more than 10,000 ounces of gold.
MARAD said the younger Mohamed’s legal troubles “cannot simply be wished away or ignored.”
The regulatory agency made known its position after Mr Mohamed, who is Guyana’s Opposition Leader and leader of the main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, claimed that the refusal so far to grant him a new captain’s licence was part of ongoing political victimisation.
He said he submitted all the required documents but was still awaiting approval in contrast to other applicants who had already received theirs.
The WIN leader also wondered whether his driver’s licence would be renewed after it is expired.
For its part, MARAD said it had to ensure the rules were evenly applied regardless of one’s wealth and political status. “The wider issue, however, is bigger than one man and one boat. Maritime safety standards cannot be tightened for ordinary Guyanese but relaxed when a politically powerful individual wants a licence. That would be reckless,” the regulator said.
MARAD reiterated that according to its official records, neither the fast craft reportedly owned by Mr. Mohamed nor Mr. Mohamed himself was licensed or otherwise authorised to operate.
“Reports from the Joint Services concerning the recent incident are equally serious: the vessel was reportedly encountered at night, travelling at high speed, was signalled to stop and allegedly failed to comply, resulting in a pursuit before it was intercepted. These are matters for the competent authorities to investigate and determine. They should not be trivialised, and MARAD should not be politically attacked simply because its application of the law produces an inconvenient result,” the agency said.ed workforce.”
