Attorney General Anil Nandlall (SC) has rejected a suggestion by businessman Nazar Mohamed that senior government officials could be linked to a reported restriction affecting High Court Judge Gino Persaud’s travel through the United States.
Speaking on his Facebook programme Issues in the News, Nandlall said neither Justice Persaud nor the US authorities had made a public statement confirming what had occurred. He said the Guyana government had “absolutely no influence whatsoever” over US decisions about who may travel to that country, and described the suggestion of government involvement as “absolute nonsense”.
Mohamed had raised the reported visa issue in a statement expressing concern about whether he and his son, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, could receive a fair extradition hearing. He pointed to judgments Justice Persaud delivered in cases involving the family and to subsequent public criticism of the judge by President Irfaan Ali, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo and Nandlall. Mohamed said neither he nor his son had a personal, professional or social relationship with the judge.
Among the cases involving the Mohamed family was a dispute over a $479.7 million tax assessment on a Ferrari belonging to Hana Mohamed. Justice Persaud quashed the assessment in July and directed the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to reconsider the matter. The GRA has appealed the ruling. No evidence has been made public linking that judgment to the reported travel difficulty.
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