Nazar yet to report claims of gold smuggling, assassination to authorities

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has once again called on sanctioned businessman Nazar “Shell” Mohamed to provide the authorities with any valuable information he has regarding gold smuggling activities.

Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, were sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly using their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, to smuggle approximately 10,000 kilograms of gold out of Guyana between 2019 and 2023.

This illicit activity reportedly denied the Guyana government more than US$50 million in gold export taxes.

Additionally, the family’s other businesses—Hadi’s World and Team Mohamed’s Racing Team—were also sanctioned.

The Guyana government has warned of potential US sanctions for entities that continue doing business with the Mohameds and has advised citizens to take this into consideration.

More recently, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) denied cabotage permission for foreign companies operating on behalf of Mohamed’s businesses.

In a Facebook address, Nazar Mohamed described the government’s position against him, his son, and their businesses as unfair.

He also accused the Guyana government of ignoring the activities of another gold operator, whom he claims is involved in illegal dealings that threaten the country’s financial system.

According to Mohamed, this unnamed gold dealer has been purchasing gold from Venezuelan men in military uniform for the past four years, with billions of dollars’ worth of gold involved.

However, Vice President Jagdeo has stated that despite making these allegations, the Mohameds have not provided any evidence or formally reported the matter to the police or other relevant authorities.

“I said they should make this public—who this individual is. Everyone would be happy to know: the media, the police, the US government.

Everyone would be interested, particularly if sanctions against Venezuela are being breached,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

He further noted that the Mohameds have also failed to report claims of a possible assassination attempt against Azruddin Mohamed, despite the severity of such an allegation.

Dr. Jagdeo emphasised that while the Mohamed family continues to focus on these claims, they have not addressed the core issue—the US allegations of gold smuggling—which led to the sanctions and the business challenges they currently face.