The US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, has dismissed claims that have been made by Businessman and Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed, that the US Government’s extradition request for him and his father is politically motivated.

The Mohameds are currently before the Courts fighting the request. The US has an 11-count indictment against the father and son over allegations of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. The Mohameds have maintained their innocence, but have repeatedly claimed that they believe the request and the US indictment are all politically motivated.

Appearing on the News Source produced “SOURCES” programme on Sunday, US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, shot down those claims.

“The United States does not pursue criminal charges for political reasons, we do it because we have hard unequivocal evidence against a person. Why would we take on a case, we don’t think we are going to win? That’s just a waste of US taxpayers’ money. So we firmly believe that they’re guilty of the crimes that they have been indicted for, and its in the Guyanese judiciary hands at this point and we are ready to move forward”, the Ambassador said.

Questioned about whether she has concerns about the delays with the ongoing Court matters surrounding the extradition request and a possible timeline, Ambassador Theriot said the US will await the completion of the process.

“It is a process, and we have done our part and now it is with your Court. We don’t have an expectation or timeline because its not ours to control. So when the decision is made, its made and we will proceed from there. We are ready today, if the Magistrate makes the decision today, we would move forward with the process, but that is not within our control and so we are patiently waiting to see what happens”, the US Envoy noted.

She said if the extradition request fails in the Court, the Mohameds will still remain sanctioned by the US Government.

Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed and their companies were sanctioned by the US Government in June 2024 along with Government Permanent Secretary, Mae Thomas.

Just over one year later, the father and son were indicted by a US Grand Jury in October 2025 on allegations of mail and wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

An official request for their extradition was received in late October 2025 and the Mohameds have been fighting that request since then through the Court system after the committal proceedings began. Just last week, they moved to the Caribbean Court of Justice to appeal recent Court rulings in Guyana with regard to cases they had filed and lost in the local Courts in relation to the same extradition request.

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