Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has assured that the recent United States Executive Order sanctions on China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCCL) will have no impact on Guyana.
Responding to inquiries on Sunday, Jagdeo told Demerara Waves Online News, “No, Guyana has nothing to worry about.”
CRCCL, which was sanctioned under executive orders by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, has been contracted by the Guyana government to build the new US$260 million Demerara Harbour Bridge, among other infrastructure projects.
The sanctions, issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), prohibit U.S. entities and individuals from engaging in transactions involving publicly traded securities or derivative securities of companies identified as Communist Chinese military companies.
Jagdeo clarified that the CRCCL sanctions, which affect over 60 companies allegedly linked to the Chinese military, are distinct from sanctions imposed on Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, who are accused of evading US$50 million in taxes owed to the Guyana government on over 10,000 kilograms of gold.
“It was very, very different than being sanctioned for corruption, bribery, gold smuggling and money laundering,” Jagdeo stated.
The Mohamed family has been under OFAC sanctions for more than a year, barring Americans and U.S. companies from conducting business with them in ways that could affect the U.S. financial system.
Additionally, Huawei, a Chinese firm whose technology is used in Guyana’s government closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system and telecom companies, is also on the U.S. sanctions list. The U.S. government alleges that Huawei’s technology contains a military surveillance bug.
