Gold trader robs GRA hundreds of millions of tax $$$ bringing in 2020 Lamborghini supercar
In early December, the streets of Georgetown gaped with the amazing sight of a Lamborghini on the road. It was the first one in the country. It landed on the wharf, was cleared and escorted to the Houston, EBD home of Guyana’s local ‘Sheikh’, Azruddin Mohamed. Azruddin is the son of Nazar Mohamed called ‘Shell’, one of Guyana’s biggest gold dealer and a close confidante of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Mohamed’s Enterprise was the biggest financier of the PPP/C for the March 2nd general and regional elections.
The supercar was photographed, paraded and even made its rounds on social media, sparking a number of memes.
What Guyana does not know is that the president’s friend and son hatched a scheme to rob the state’s tax coffers under the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and duties…all with the blessing and authorization of the PPP/C.
What is known about the importation of the supercar- a toy of the super-rich and famous around the world?
---It landed in Guyana between late November and early December and was cleared in a matter of days.
---On the market it is one of the most expensive of rides at about $600,000 US dollars…. $120M Guyana dollars equivalent- that price does not include duty and taxes. The shipping to Guyana is not more than $4M.
---From records, the gold dealer and his son deliberately submitted an invoice to GRA that the car was purchased for $80,000 US ($16M Guyana dollars).
---An American citizen who is involved in drag racing was used as the purchaser. He claimed he sold them for $80,000 US.
---This is where the deal got exposed. The gold dealer and his son wired up more than a $120M (equivalent in US dollars) to a Newport, California company directly from their account, indicating that the drag racer was a front/fraud.
---GRA accepted and used the $80,000 US dollar invoice by the drag racer to calculate the incorrect duty and taxes.
---Shockingly GRA did not question the invoice and someone there charged just over $60M in duty and taxes.
---Customs brokers have calculated that a 6.5 liters engine/V12 gas vehicle would attract between $300-$400M in duty and taxes.
---This is deliberate under-invoicing, in a blatant scheme of tax evasion.
---This crime is classified as a serious offence under our anti-money laundering laws and can lead to imprisonment locally or extradition.
-The word on the street is that the order to deliberately charge lower duty and taxes resulting in the state losing hundreds of millions of dollars came from the top of the ruling PPP/C party.
TO BE CONTINUED