Businessman Azruddin Mohamed, who has been sanctioned by the United States government, has now accused local politicians of corruption in a prerecorded video message shared early Friday morning.“A nation as rich in natural resources as ours should have citizens who are equally prosperous but that is impossible while we have corrupt politicians who care only about themselves,” Mohamed said in the video message shared on the Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, responding to concerns about a US firm hired by the government.Mr. Mohamed has, ironically, been sanctioned for smuggling gold resources and other corrupt acts.“Azruddin and Mohamed’s Enterprise evaded Guyana’s tax on gold exports and defrauded Guyanese of tax revenues by under-declaring their gold exports to Guyanese authorities. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10,000 kilograms of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the government of Guyana,” a release from the US Department of the Treasury noted in 2024.The businessman defended himself in the video, stating, “I am not a danger to Guyana.”Gov’t did not tell US lobby firm to raise concerns about Azruddin Mohamed – JagdeoThe businessman’s video focused on recent reports that a lobbying firm was hired by the government to inform US officials of threats to Guyana. The caption of Mr. Mohamed’s video said taxpayers’ funds are being used to “smear Mohamed.” However, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo explained that the firm was hired to inform US officials of external threats to Guyana, including from Venezuela. Jagdeo, on Thursday, said the firm was not instructed to raise concerns about Mr. Mohamed.US Congress warns OFAC-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed is a ‘pro-Maduro puppet’Mr. Mohamed, in recent days, has come in for increased scrutiny following tweets made by US congresspersons.Congressman Carlos Gimenez was the first to raise concerns, stating that the U.S. Congress is alarmed about Mr. Mohamed’s candidacy in the upcoming elections. Gimenez said the US Congress believes that Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro is attempting to undermine Guyana through Mohamed.US Congresswoman says sanctioned individuals mustn’t undermine Guyana’s democracyFollowing the tweet made by the congressman on Monday, Mr. Mohamed rejected the “pro-Maduro” label. In a statement on the Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, Mohamed said he has been falsely portrayed as an agent of the Maduro regime and said he stands firmly for Guyana’s sovereignty.The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury, on June 11, 2024 announced the imposition of sanctions against the Mohamed’s family, specifically targeting Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed, and their businesses, namely Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing. Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Mae Thomas, was also sanctioned.The post Azruddin Mohamed, sanctioned by US gov’t for corruption, accuses politicians of being corrupt in prerecorded video appeared first on News Room Guyana.