Gov’t wary of further action against Mohameds without US evidence – Benn

Last Updated on Friday, 12 July 2024, 17:50 by Writer

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn on Friday said the Guyana government was cautious about seizing firearms in the possession of Mohamed’s Enterprise whose foreign exchange and gold dealers operations have been already effectively shut down due to United States Treasury Department sanctions.

Usually, Mohamed’s Enterprise on Lombard Street was secured by guards armed with rifles, but the Home Affairs Minister said government was not in a hurry to take control of those firearms. “We will make decisions based on the information that we have. We have to be careful to make practical responses to issues.

It couldn’t be, in any event, while reviews were ongoing, we don’t take, precipitate action which may put people at risk,” he told reporters.

The Bank of Guyana revoked Mohamed’s Enterprise foreign exchange (cambio) licence on June 13, 2024 and the Guyana Gold Board was no longer accepting gold from that entity due to the sanctions by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC alleges that Mohamed’s Enterprise defrauded Guyana of more than US$50 million in taxes on more than 10,000 kilogrammes of exported gold.

The Home Affairs Minister said Guyana has asked the US for mutual legal assistance and “so we’ll await for further information on whatever the issue is.”