Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed arrested ahead of extradition to US

Businessmen Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed were arrested in Georgetown on Friday under a magistrate’s warrant, following a U.S. request for their extradition on charges linked to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme, the Attorney General’s Chambers said.

The extradition request, received on October 30, was made under a treaty between Guyana and the United Kingdom that remains in force through Section 4(1)(a) of the Fugitives Offenders Act, Cap. 10:04, as amended in 2024.

A team of lawyers led by King’s Counsel Terrence Williams, Herbert McKenzie, and Celine Deidrick presented an Authority to Proceed and application for an arrest warrant to a Georgetown Magistrate, who subsequently issued the order, the statement said.

A U.S. Grand Jury in the Southern District of Florida unsealed an indictment on October 6, charging the Mohameds with wire fraud, mail fraud, money-laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs violations.

The indictment alleges that between 2017 and June 2024, the men conspired to defraud Guyana by evading export taxes and royalties on more than 10,000 kilograms of gold through falsified customs declarations and re-used export seals. It also references a US$5.3 million undeclared gold shipment seized in Miami and an under-invoiced luxury vehicle worth over US$680,000.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Mohameds and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, in June 2024 over alleged tax evasion, money-laundering, and gold smuggling.

Guyana was officially informed of the U.S. probe through diplomatic channels following those sanctions. The investigation reportedly involved the DEA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security, and cooperation between the two governments dates back to 2016–2017.

In March 2025, Guyanese authorities received a dossier of evidence from U.S. officials under mutual legal assistance agreements, detailing irregularities in gold exports and related customs documentation.

The Mohameds will be processed under the Fugitive Offenders Act and other applicable laws in accordance with Guyana’s Constitution, the statement added.