More than two years after former Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas was sanctioned by the United States over alleged corruption involving Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, the government is yet to disclose whether she was investigated locally or remains on the public payroll.
Questions about Thomas’s status have resurfaced as extradition proceedings against the Mohameds advance in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. The proceedings resumed after the Caribbean Court of Justice cleared the way for the case to continue.
The father and son are wanted in the United States to face an 11-count indictment stemming from an alleged gold-export and money-laundering scheme. US prosecutors have alleged that more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold were exported while over US$50 million in taxes and royalties was evaded.
The Mohameds have denied wrongdoing and are contesting extradition.
Thomas is not charged in the indictment. However, she was sanctioned alongside the Mohameds in June 2024 under the US Global Magnitsky programme.
The US Department of the Treasury alleged that while serving as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs between October 2020 and August 2023, Thomas used her position to extend benefits to Mohamed’s Enterprise and Azruddin Mohamed in exchange for cash payments and high-value gifts.
It also alleged that she influenced the award of government contracts and the approval of firearm licences and passports on behalf of Mohamed’s Enterprise. Thomas has maintained her innocence.
Miami International Airport
She was transferred from the Home Affairs Ministry to the Ministry of Labour in August 2023. The transfer came months after she was questioned by US authorities while passing through Miami International Airport. Her mobile telephone was seized and her US visa revoked.
Following the announcement of the sanctions on June 11, 2024, the government sent Thomas on leave with immediate effect.
In a statement, the government said it took the allegations “very seriously” and would engage the relevant US authorities. It also said the Ministry of Finance, the Guyana Revenue Authority and other statutory bodies would request additional information to assist local law-enforcement agencies.
Since then, however, the government has not disclosed whether the promised information was received or whether the police, the Special Organised Crime Unit or any other local agency launched an investigation. There has also been no announcement of disciplinary proceedings against Thomas.
In September 2024, PPP/C General Secretary and Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that Thomas remained on paid leave. When asked again in June 2025 whether she was still being paid, Jagdeo said he could not provide an answer.
Thomas has not been seen publicly for some time and it remains unclear whether she is still a public servant, remains on leave or has resigned or retired.
She also had close ties to the governing PPP/C and was a member of its Central Committee. She resigned from the party’s executive body shortly after the sanctions were announced.
At the time, Jagdeo said Thomas had maintained her innocence and was prepared to cooperate with any investigation. He described her as a hard worker and said he was saddened by her resignation.
In June 2025, Jagdeo said Thomas was unlikely to be included on the PPP/C’s list of candidates for the September general elections.
He also urged reporters not to focus on her and blamed Azruddin Mohamed’s alleged conduct for her being sanctioned.
“Please don’t make Mae the issue here,” Jagdeo said. He referred to Mohamed as the person accused of involvement in the movement of 10,000 kilogrammes of gold.
The government is still to say whether Thomas was interviewed locally; whether her assets and declarations to the Integrity Commission were examined; and whether contracts handled during her tenure at the Home Affairs Ministry were reviewed.
It is also unclear whether the firearm licences and passports which the US alleged she helped to facilitate were identified and re-examined.
Further, the government has not disclosed whether Thomas remains on paid leave and, if so, how much she has received from the state since June 2024.
Thomas remains on the US Treasury’s sanctions list.
While the allegations against her have not been tested in a court and she is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the absence of information from the government contrasts with the advancement of the criminal and extradition proceedings against the two businessmen with whom the US linked her.
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