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Mohamed’s family and government official Mae Thomas went on for two and a half years and was kept under wraps from local government and law enforcement officials.

This is according to the US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event at the US embassy in Georgetown on Friday afternoon.

Theriot emphasised that the sanctions handed down by the US Department of the Treasury were not done “lightly” and represent the most serious set of sanctions that can be handed down following any probe into corruption and human rights abuses.

But why weren’t Guyanese authorities directly involved in the probe?

According to Theriot, it is standard practice for US authorities to keep their investigations “close-hold” or classified to stop any intelligence from being compromised.

“We tend to not share a lot of information until the information reaches a certain stage,” she explained.

Now that the sanctions are instituted, the Government of Guyana has requested the information gathered through the probe to conduct its own investigation. Theriot is involved in efforts to get that information here.

She said she had received a request from the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godrey Statia.

“I passed that request immediately to the Treasury Department and I strongly recommended that they share as much of that evidence that is unclassified and that can be shared because we have a wonderful relationship with the Government of Guyana,” Theriot noted.

Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin, were sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury. Ventures associated with the Mohamed’s family, namely Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing, were also sanctioned.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Mae Thomas was also implicated in the corruption allegations and she has since been sent on leave and she has resigned from the leadership of the governing PPP.

headless body was found in the area.

France appeared before Magistrate Robindranauth Singh to answer the said charge. He was not required to plea and was remanded to prison until August 6, 2024.

France was arrested earlier this week.

The headless body, decomposed of 23-year-old Paulette Edwards was discovered on June 8 in a swamp surrounded by bushes at “Cat Walk”, Port Kaituma.

Edwards was identified by a scar on her right leg and the clothes she was wearing when last seen alive.

It is believed that she was brutally murdered between June 4 and 7, 2024. She was last seen alive on June 4, when she left to file a report at the Port Kaituma police station against her husband.

tropical storms and flooding in the morning and over the preceding days which caused a waterlogged outfield that did not dry in time.

The match was scheduled to start at 10:30h, with the cut-off time for a five-over match at 14:16h.

Sri Lanka vs Nepal was also washed out at the same venue on Wednesday, and India are scheduled to take on Canada there on Saturday.

But a heavy storm followed the abandonment leaving big puddles on the outfield, which also puts that game in doubt.

USA join India from their group in reaching the next round, which eliminates Ireland, Canada and Pakistan.

Australia, West Indies, Afghanistan and South Africa have also qualified from the other groups.

It is a remarkable achievement for a side ranked 18^th in the world, playing in their first World Cup and who only played their first T20 international in 2019.

They beat Canada in a high-scoring thriller in the tournament opener, shocked Pakistan in a Super Over and then put in a spirited fight against cricketing giants India.

The Super Eight starts on June 19 with USA, who have now also qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup by virtue of reaching the last eight here, facing South Africa in Antigua. (BBC)

 

ended in a stalemate after three hours of talks. GTU President Mark Lyte, however, told reporters that there was some progress made.

Commenting on the discussions, Jagdeo said the process seems to be moving forward.

“The Ministry and the Union had some recent good engagements, an exchange of letters, and I think we are moving forward and hopefully we will get back to the table.

“I’ve seen some serious progress being made,” the Vice President said at Thursday’s press conference held at the Office of the President in Georgetown.

An initial five-week strike began on February 5, with teachers demanding higher salary increases and duty-free concessions, among other benefits.

After a court-mediated process in March, talks between the Education Ministry and GTU resumed. However, discussions were halted when the Education Ministry indicated that there was no fiscal space to cater for increases for the period 2019 -2023.

Lyte this week indicated that the union has ‘flexed’ and is now looking at increases for the years 2022 to 2023. The position, he said, is the final one which will be maintained by the union.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo reminded reporters that the government, since 2020, has met some of the union’s requests and it remains willing to discuss increases for 2024 and the years ahead.

He also reminded those at the press conference that the government does not agree with the recent High Court ruling about teachers’ right to strike and is appealing the decision.

United States sanctions against Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son Azruddin, several government agencies are assessing the sectors impacted, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday.

Once that assessment is completed, the Vice President said the necessary actions, be it the revocation of gold mining licences or otherwise, will be pursued with alacrity.

Already, the Bank of Guyana on Thursday revoked the cambio licence held by the Mohamed’s family at their Lombard Street, Werk-en- Rust, Georgetown headquarters. At his press conference on Thursday, the Vice President said the Central Bank had to act with “alacrity” to insulate the local financial sector from any fallout from the sanctions.

However, other likely exposed sectors are being assessed now.

“So they are still looking at a report on the exposure in the financial sector and all the other agencies that have, like, business interactions or regulatory responsibilities for sectors in which the Mohamdes are involved in,” Jagdeo said.

Once that assessment is done, a report will be compiled and presented to the government for the necessary actions to be taken. Jagdeo said the government is treating the sanctions, and the corruption allegations, seriously.

He also promised that once any unlawful activity is unearthed, culpable persons will face the full force of the law.

Ventures associated with the Mohamed family, namely Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing, were also sanctioned.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Mae Thomas was also implicated in the corruption allegations and she has since been sent on leave and she has resigned from the leadership of the ruling PPP.