The Mohameds family which owns Mohameds Enterprises, one of the largest business groups in Guyana, has rejected a special report by the Reuters news agency, linking the company and its principles to gold smuggling and drug trafficking.

In an explosive report released this morning on its online platforms, the Reuters agency reported that the United States is probing the Mohameds company, which serves as a contractor for ExxonMobil, for gold smuggling and drug trafficking.

In a statement issued hours later, the Mohameds company described the report as defamatory of the character and reputation of the company’s owner, Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed.

The Mohameds said they reject the sources referred to in the report and what they consider to be “the reckless use of sources as the basis of the entire report.”

“The Mohameds categorically deny that they are the subject of any investigations by any US authorities. In response to a request by Reuters to respond to these baseless allegations, the Mohameds not only specifically denied these allegations but challenged Reuters to produce any evidence to support the allegations made in the report”, the statement said.

The Reuters news agency is one of the largest news organizations in the world with more than 2500 international correspondents in over 200 countries.

According to the report carried by the international news agency, U.S. officials are considering imposing sanctions on the Mohameds, according to four of the sources and two additional people familiar with the matter.

The report noted that such a move could require Exxon to sever its business relationship with any sanctioned individuals or companies.

Exxon is currently partnering with the company involved in the gas-to-shore project that involves the Mohameds group. The gas to shore project is one of the major investments linked to the oil and gas sector and enjoys the full support of the government.

The Mohameds would like the news organization, Reuters, to produce any information to support that the allegations and statements in the report, which the company and family consider to be vile and sloppy.

“The Mohameds consider this report a most vile diabolical sloppy hatchet job, published with the primary intention to create the appearance that the Mohameds are in a position of conflict with the US law enforcement agencies”, the statement from Mohameds said.

The Reuters report reveals that based on its sources, the Mohameds are being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. agencies, on suspicions of smuggling Colombian cocaine and illegally mined Venezuelan gold to the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

The Mohameds continue to reject the report and its claims.

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