GEORGETOWN – Guyanese gold dealer, Tameshwar Jagmohan, Tuesday denied claims by a former employee that he had been involved in gold smuggling and has threatened legal action to clear his name.
“I categorically deny all of the allegations made in the interview. I have always conducted my business in strict compliance with the laws of Guyana. The timing of these unfounded claims is suspicious and raises serious questions about the motives behind their release,” Jagmohan said in a statement.
Jagmohan said the former worker had “worked as my gold buying agent several years ago, but our association ended over concerns about his… business practices.
“All legal options are being considered,” he said, noting that apart from the former employee, legal action will also be taken against “any individuals who may have influenced or facilitated these statements”.
Jagmohan said the video, which was posted on social media, contains “false and damaging allegations about my past business dealings”.
This is not the first time that Jagmohan has distanced himself from allegations of gold smuggling and money laundering. In August 2024, he denied reports that surfaced online that alleged that he was under investigation by the US authorities over reports of gold smuggling and money laundering.
Meanwhile, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, is calling for stronger penalties for individuals involved in gold smuggling, warning that the actions of a few bad actors are jeopardising the country’s entire gold sector.
Jagdeo in an interview on the Starting Point podcast said that despite successful sting operations leading to the arrest of several individuals in gold smuggling, many are released on bail, and prosecuting them on money laundering charges remains difficult.
“When you charge people for smuggling in gold, it’s harder to charge them for money laundering offences so we now have to strengthen the charges that we place on those people… because of the illegal gold smuggling, it puts the sector at risk,” Jagdeo noted.
He said that there has been significant work done to apprehend persons through sting operations.
In recent sting operations several foreign nationals, including individuals from China, who had been involved in illegal gold trading in Guyana have been arrested.
“So clearly the Chinese are doing some of this,” he said, recalling that “about a year and a half ago there were several sting operations and we actually caught several of them.”
“They were charged here. Some of these people were buying currency and shipping it out to Suriname,” Jagdeo said, noting that the real threat to the country’s gold sector comes from local figures, who are sanctioned by the United States. (CMC)
