Sanctioned father and son businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and WIN Party Leader, Azruddin Mohamed, have both been indicted by a grand jury in the US Southern Florida District to face charges of wire and mail fraud and money laundering. Most of the charges are related to gold exports to the United States by Mohamed’s Enterprises, which is owned by the two.

The indictment is 12 pages long and contains 11 various counts related to mail and wire fraud and money laundering allegations.

Count 1 of the indictment alleges that between 2017 and continuing until around June 11, 2024, the father and son knowingly and with intent to further objects of conspiracy, combined and conspired with each other and others known and unknown to defraud and devise a scheme to obtain property and transmitted interstate and foreign commerce certain writings, signals, signs pictures and sounds for the purpose of executing the scheme in violation of US law.

The US said the purpose of the conspiracy was for the father and son to enrich themselves and defraud the Government of Guyana in connection with taxes and royalties owed on the sale and export of gold by fraudulently reusing Guyana Customs declarations and seals on gold shipments sent through Miami to make to make it appear that Mohamed’s Enterprises had paid taxes and royalties when it had not actually paid them.

The indictment alleges that Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed would set up a system whereby Mohamed’s Enterprise would pay taxes and royalties in Guyana on one shipment of gold and receive appropriate Guyana Revenue Authority and Guyana Gold Board seals, but then reuse the same customs declarations and GRA and GGB seals on the subsequent shipment so that Mohamed’s Enterprise could avoid taxes and royalties on the second shipment.

The two are also accused of causing their company to ship empty wooden boxes with intact GRA and GGB seals from gold buyers in Dubai to Miami and those empty boxes with seals in tact would be shipped to Mohamed’s Enterprises in Guyana.

The US says the empty boxes would then be used to ship gold out of Guyana while giving the appearance that all royalties and taxes were already paid.

The indictment alleges that more than US$50 million in taxes and royalties were loss to the Guyanese authorities.

Counts 2 to 5 makes the similar claims with the empty boxes with seals and those boxes being imported to Guyana empty and exported with gold as if taxes and royalties were paid. Those counts highlight emails allegedly from Nazar Mohamed requesting the boxes from a company in Miami at various times and on various dates for the shipment of gold out of Guyana.

Each shipment reflected more than 165 kilograms of gold that were for a buyer in Dubai.

Counts 6 to 9 of the indictment also make references of the mail fraud and highlights shipments of the empty wooden boxes with the seals on them from Dubai to Miami.

Count 10 of the indictment addresses allegations of money laundering, and according to the details of the indictment, the Mohameds allegedly knowingly transported and transferred monetary instruments and funds from a place in the United States with the intent to promote the carrying out of specified unlawful activity.

The 11th Count of the indictment makes reference to mail fraud and covers from the year 2020 naming Azruddin Mohamed and his purchase and importation of a Lamborghini sports car. The documents claimed that Azruddin Mohamed caused an individual to acquire the car at a cost of US$680,000 and have the car shipped to Guyana. However, it is alleged that Mohamed directed the individual to create an invoice to make it falsely appear that the car’s cost was US$75,300 when in fact, the cost was significantly more, US$680,000.

The US Government wants the forfeiture to the United States, certain property in which the two accused have an interest.

The indictment states that the maximum imprisonment term for most of the charges would be 20 years in prison with a maximum fine of US$250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss. The money laundering charge carries a fine if convicted of US$500,000 or the value of the property involved in the transaction.

The indictment comes more than a year after the US Government sanctioned the father and son and their companies, along with Government Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas in relation to the same allegations.

Since being sanctioned, Mohamed has launched his own political party, which picked up 16 seats at the September 1 elections, thereby becoming the main opposition party in the parliament. The new Parliament is still to be convened. Mohamed is expected to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament and possibly elected to the position of Opposition Leader.

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