Opposition Leader accuses President of “massive corruption” at highway “ranch”

Last Updated on Sunday, 5 July 2026, 13:39 by Denis Chabrol

Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed on Sunday accused President Irfaan Ali of a GY$2.2 billion corruption-laced investment in a “ranch” off the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, but the Guyanese leader vehemently denied the claims, saying that he borrowed money from the banking system.

Reacting to the accusations, Dr Ali said most Guyanese were aware that he owns a farm before he was first elected as President in 2020. “As most people are aware, I do not have a ranch. I have a farm that I have had long before I am President,” said Dr Ali who served as both minister of tourism, industry and commerce, and housing and water up to when his People’s Progressive Party Civic lost the 2015 general and regional elections;

He also rejected Mr Mohamed suggestions that he leveraged his position as President to build a wide GY$75 million road and position himself to benefit favourably in several aspects of agricultural production.

In a 24-minute video, which includes images of the buildings, that was released Sunday morning on his Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, Mr Mohamed said a brand new road was built to the to the President’s estimated GY$150-acre “sprawling agricultural estate” that includes an electricity transmission network valued at GY$55 million. “The residents in one of the closest villages to Irfaan’s estate, St. Cuthbert’s Mission, have for decades received electricity for only four hours a day, while Irfaan is powering his estate for his black-bellied sheep and Brazilian cows,” the Opposition Leader added.

Mr Mohamed estimates that Dr Ali is projected to earn millions of dollars from poultry, Brazilian cattle, black belly sheep, goats, hassar and tambaqui. The Opposition Leader produced images showing large ventilated poultry tunnel houses, shade houses, cattle houses, and multi-level structures for the sheep.

In addition to workers’ residential quarters, the Opposition Leader said the President’s two-storey concrete ranch house is accompanied by a recreational entertainment area featuring a swimming pool, paved pool deck, gazebo, two benabs and an outdoor kitchen- all worth GY$165 million. “Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands of Guyanese who still don’t have a place to call home,” said Mr Mohamed who, along with his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, have been sanctioned and charged by the United States for alleged wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering linked to their gold trading business. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control alleges that they exported more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold and in that process evaded more than US$50 million payable to the Guyana government.

None of Mr Mohamed’s detailed estimates of cost and  projected revenues could be independently confirmed.

Mr Mohamed urged the “business community and elites of society to open their eyes” to how the President is amassing his own generational wealth while asking them for for money and continuously expecting them to finance his lavish fundraisers, extravagant parties, and galas.

But President Ali rubbished Mr Mohamed’s assertions that he misused his office as President, though his monthly salary his GY$3.5 million. Dr Ali said there was proof that he borrowed money to finance his agricultural activity and all of his assets had been recorded at the Integrity Commission. “There is absolutely no State involvement or no State financing for any single thing on my farm. It is in existence long before I am President  and all of my assets have been declared to the Integrity Commission. Further to my assets being declared to the Integrity Commission, the financial system can verify and support every single investment I have made or all my assets and liabilities which include my loan so it is completely false. Nothing there was supported by any State investment,” he told Demerara Waves Online News moments after arriving in St Lucia for the 51st Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit scheduled for July 5 to 8. Unlike Jamaica’s Integrity Commission, the local body is not legally required to publish the assets of leading political figures.

Asked whether he had used the influence of his office to acquire the farm land and animals, he reiterated that, “I am saying to you it’s absolutely false. Completely false.”

The President blamed the Opposition Leader and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed of “attempting to blackmail me to retreat”. He said Sunday’s accusation by the younger Mohamed was “part of that agenda.” Without immediately providing details, Dr Ali said up to recently they tried to do that. “This part of a nasty agenda of the Mohameds and now they came out this morning with complete propaganda, lies and deception,” he said.

Dr Ali said no permission was granted to anyone to enter his farm, but he received reports from workers there that a drone was seen over the area continuously during the past four days. He said reports were made to the police about the presence of the drone and the alleged dropping of something from that unmanned aerial vehicle. “I have not followed up on that. They are dealing with the police on that,” he said.

Up to the US’ imposition of sanctions on the Mohameds in June 2024, they and Dr Ali had enjoyed an extremely close relationship dating back to his secondary school days.