Billionaire businessmen, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed were both arrested in Georgetown on Friday following an extradition request from the United States.

The younger Mohamed, Azruddin Mohamed, was arrested just outside the Guyana Revenue Authority office on Smyth Street in Georgetown on Friday morning. He was handcuffed and arrested after being surrounded two van loads of Police Officers, with some of them wearing face masks.

The father, Nazar Mohamed, was taken into custody this morning also.

The arrest comes days before Azruddin Mohamed is expected to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament. With his party having the largest number of seats in the Opposition, he was likely set to become the Leader of the Opposition.

In early October, the father and son, who were already under US sanctions, were indicted by a grand jury in the US Southern Florida District on allegations 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.

Some of the charges allege that between 2017 and 2024, the Mohameds through their company, dodged paying taxes and royalties in Guyana by reusing declaration and royalty documents from one single shipment for multiple shipments of gold from Guyana. The charges also allege that wooden boxes carrying the seals of the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Guyana Gold Board were imported into Guyana and used repeatedly for gold exports, alleging that by the actions, the Mohameds were allegedly able to dodge paying more than US$50 Million in taxes.

One of the charges also alleges falsifying of purchase documents for a luxury sports car that was bought by the son, Azruddin Mohamed, and imported to Guyana. The US Court documents allege that with the cost of the car allegedly falsified, the younger Mohamed dodged paying millions of dollars in taxes in Guyana.

The Mohameds, who were sanctioned in 2024 by the US Government in relation to the same allegations, along with Government Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas, have repeatedly denied the allegations.

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