GEORGETOWN – Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has made it clear that despite the withdrawal of tax-related charges against U.S.-indicted businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, the State is still moving to recover every cent owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said the discontinuation of the criminal charges does not absolve the father-and-son duo of their tax liabilities, nor does it prevent the government from pursuing the matter through civil court action.“You have to pay the taxes,” Jagdeo declared.
“They got the demand notice for the $191 billion already, that’s calculated based on penalties, and that’s not going to stop.” He stressed that while the GRA withdrew the charges, civil proceedings are already in motion to recover the outstanding sums.
His comments came days after the GRA formally discontinued all tax-related cases against the owners of Mohamed’s Enterprise, who are also facing U.S. indictments for conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, money laundering, and gold smuggling.
The GRA explained that the withdrawal was necessary to facilitate a U.S. extradition request for the two businessmen. The charges, initially filed by GRA Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia, accused the Mohameds of underreporting more than $32 billion in taxable income from gold exports between 2020 and 2024.
According to the complaints, Nazar Mohamed allegedly understated approximately $29.12 billion, while Azruddin Mohamed failed to declare around $3.61 billion, leading to a combined tax shortfall that ballooned, with penalties and interest, to $191.17 billion. Jagdeo’s position was echoed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who stated in a Facebook post that the government retains its full legal authority to collect the outstanding sums.
“Extradition apart, the State of Guyana retains its full plenitude of legal powers to secure all taxes due, owing, and payable, and intends to do so in accordance with the law,” Nandlall wrote. The Mohameds’ legal troubles are far from over.
While the local criminal charges have been dropped to clear the way for U.S. proceedings, both men remain under indictment by a U.S. grand jury on multiple counts tied to alleged corruption and gold smuggling operations.
Still, Jagdeo insisted that Guyana will not be backing down. “The criminal case may be off the table for now,” he said, “but the money is not. They will still have to pay every dollar that’s owed to the State.”
