GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is hitting back at claims of political persecution after five individuals linked to the new political group We Invest In Nationhood (WIIN) had their bank accounts shut down by Demerara Bank Limited.
The group, which includes WIN candidates Odessa Primus, Natasha Singh-Lewis, and Duarte Hertsberger, has accused the PPP/C government of orchestrating a targeted financial attack. But Jagdeo is calling those allegations “completely false” and “misleading,” insisting that the closures have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with international banking laws.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with political victimization,” Jagdeo said Thursday at a press conference at Freedom House. “It’s about risk management and global compliance.”
At the center of the controversy is the group’s connection to WIN leader Azruddin Mohamed, a U.S.-sanctioned businessman placed on the Treasury Department’s blacklist in 2024 alongside his father, Shell Mohamed, for alleged corruption, tax evasion, and gold smuggling.
According to Jagdeo, Guyanese banks are walking a tightrope. He explained that continued access to SWIFT, the global system banks rely on for international transactions, is non-negotiable. If Guyanese banks are flagged for non-compliance, they risk being frozen out of international finance altogether.
“If the banks in Guyana lose access to SWIFT, they might as well shut down. You can’t function,” he said. “This isn’t about the PPP. This is about financial survival.”SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is the lifeline for global trade and financial transfers.
The U.S. has previously used SWIFT bans as a powerful sanctions tool, most notably against Russia. Jagdeo said banks here are understandably nervous about maintaining ties to politically exposed persons or entities linked to sanctioned figures.
“You’re part of an organisation headed by a man who is under U.S. sanctions,” Jagdeo said, pointing to WIIN’s leadership. “No responsible bank will want to take on that level of exposure.”
The Vice President added that more account closures are likely, not as a political act, but as a precaution by banks seeking to shield themselves from fallout. “Other financial institutions will follow. They have to protect their relationships within the global banking system.”
Still, the optics are contentious. With elections weeks away, the shutdown of opposition-linked accounts is already fueling conspiracy theories online. WIN supporters argue they are being silenced before they’ve even had a fair shot at the ballot.
But Jagdeo remained unmoved. “This is about the law. Not loyalty. Not politics,” he said. “You cannot join an organisation led by a sanctioned individual and expect there to be no consequences.”
As financial institutions brace for what could be a wave of similar closures, Guyana is now facing a stark new political reality, where international sanctions, banking regulations, and domestic politics collide in real time.
