Attorney General of Guyana, Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall, has signaled the readiness of the Guyana Government to meet any extradition request that be filed in relation to billionaire businessmen, Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, who were both slapped with a US indictment earlier this week that alleges money laundering and mail and wire fraud in relation to gold exports.

The 11-count indictment overs the years 2017 to 2024, and details various allegations of tax dodging and money laundering by the father and son in relation to their Mohamed’s Enterprise business, which was mainly involved in gold mining and export.

Appearing on his “Issues in the News” talk show last evening, the Attorney General said Guyana’s extradition treaty with the United States dates back to more than 100 years and has been repeatedly used by both countries. He said in relation to the Mohameds and the charges that they are facing in the United States, Guyana stands ready and wiling to meet any extradition request for the father and son.

“Guyana is ready, willing and most able to diligently discharge its legal duties and obligations under the current extradition framework that exists with the United States of America in relation to this matter, and we remain committed to that course. At this point in time, we are awaiting the request, and once the request is received then the requisite legal process will unfold in accordance with the procedure set out in the law”, Mr. Nandlall said.

The younger Mohamed, Azruddin Mohamed, is the Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood party which was formed earlier this year and won 16 parliamentary seats at its first election outing. The party will head into the new Parliament as the main opposition party and Mohamed is likely set to become the Leader of the Opposition, which is a constitutional position in Guyana.

Mohamed has claimed “political persecution” over the US indictment against him and his father. However, the Attorney General has dismissed that position and stated that there is no political motivation behind the charges by the US.

Nandlall said “it is nonsensical for anyone to contend that these processes or this process is being motivated by some political agenda, is inspired by some political incentive or is in any manner whatsoever tainted by politics or some other irrelevant consideration”.

The Attorney General reminded that a perusal of the the US indictment against the Mohamed would show that their alleged crimes covered two different Guyana Governments and two different US Governments also.

“You would quickly realize that they (indictment) spans a period that goes back to 2017 and what that means is that this process commenced long before long the PPP Government got into office. In fact it spans two governments of Guyana and two governments of the United States…the charges as set out in the indictment is between 2017 and 2024 and for most of that period, by their own pronouncements, the Mohameds were close to the PPP. How is it now that the PPP has some narrative and the PPP is somehow involved in some process that can be described as political persecution. One has to be delusional to entertain that type of thinking that the conceive that the PPP has the ability to influence the mighty Department of Justice of the United States of America and their accompanying law enforcement agencies of the US to carry out political agendas of the PPP, to think that the PPP is able to persuade those mighty organisations to carry out its political agenda, that must be the product of a special mind”

Nandlall shot down Mohamed’s “political persecution” claim as outrageous. He explained that once the US makes an extradition request, a legal procedure will be triggered. That procedure could see the Mohameds challenging the request in the Court.

The businessmen, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed have been indicted by a grand jury in the US Southern Florida District to face charges of wire and mail fraud and money laundering. 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 makes claims of falsification 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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