Days after filing a $34 Billion tax evasion charge against businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed related to gold exports, the Guyana Revenue Authority this morning withdrew the charges, offering no explanation to the Court.

The Mohameds appeared in Court this morning to face the new charges, but the Court was informed by the Prosecuting Attorneys that the GRA was withdrawing the charges.

In the charges filed, the GRA claimed that the Mohameds had evaded more than $34 Billion in local taxes between 2019 and 2023 with the alleged falsification of gold export documents. The Mohameds had always maintained their innocence.

The now withdrawn GRA charges followed an 11-count indictment filed by the US Government in a Florida Court last month against the Mohameds claiming tax evasion through wire and mail fraud and money laundering related to gold exports from Guyana. The US is currently seeking the extradition of the father and son to face the charges.

Following the withdrawal of the local charges this morning, Lead Attorney for the Mohameds, Siand Dhurjon said the GRA was on a fishing expedition with the new charges.

“I asked the Prosecutors from the GRA why it was withdrawn, they could not give a reason, they said it was above their pay grade. But we know why the charges were withdrawn, this was a fishing expedition. They filed the charges to see if we would come to the table to try to bargain with them to alleviate some or all of the taxes, we did not such thing. They have no evidence to substantiate any of these 10 charges, which charged them with under declaring very colossal amounts of income tax to the tune of billions of dollars without presenting a shred of evidence. Apart from that, lets than 15 days ago, notices of assessments for these amounts were sent, and the law says that within 15 days after receipt of the notices of assessment, the taxpayer has an opportunity to raise an objection to the notice, and we raised an objection only yesterday, and in fact up to Friday was the deadline to raise our objection”, Dhurjon said.

The Attorney said the GRA must have realized that the recently instituted charges were badly filed against his clients, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed.

“I don’t know if they have misapprehended the rights and powers of a taxpayer under law, but I think it was realised last minute that the charges were badly brought and that they were misconstrued both in law and fact”, he said.

Mr. Dhurjon said the Mohameds will continue their fight against all charges that have been filed against them at various levels of the Court system.

Azruddin Mohamed, who was recently sworn in as a Member of Parliament told reporters that the latest Court action filed against him by the GRA was baseless.

“The charges are frivolous and vexatious, baseless trumped up charges. And we will win all of these matters in the Court, we are innocent”, he told reporters.

The Mohameds are facing a number of other charges in the Courts related to tax evasion and fraudulent declaration. They have also moved to the High Court seeking to have some of those charges thrown out. Last Friday, the father and son appeared at the same Georgetown Magistrates’ Court after being arrested following an extradition request from the United States. That matter is still ongoing. They were granted bail in the sum of $150,000 each in relation to the extradition issue.

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