By: Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |
A seismic legal development unfolded on Wednesday morning in the high-profile extradition case involving gold magnates Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, as Magistrate Judy Latchman ruled that the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court will proceed with the extradition hearing—delivering a decisive setback to the defence.
In a detailed and well-reasoned decision, Magistrate Latchman cited several precedents and held that the matter must remain before the Magistracy, clearing the way for the extradition proceedings to proceed without delay.
The ruling comes one day after intense arguments by the Mohamed legal team, who insisted that the proceedings should not proceed until the High Court rules on the constitutionality of the 2009 amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Act.
Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, representing the Mohameds, reiterated that position outside the courtroom, signalling that the defence will immediately appeal the decision—setting the stage for a heightened legal showdown.
The prosecution, however, had dismissed the defence’s request as premature, speculative, and without legal basis, maintaining that the amendments stand valid and that further delay would undermine the purpose of the extradition process.
Wednesday’s ruling means that the father-and-son duo—wanted by the United States on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering linked to their gold-trading operations and Azruddin Mohamed’s acquisition of a luxury Lamborghini—will now face an active extradition hearing in the Magistrates’ Court.
The decision was described as a welcome victory for the prosecution, which has been pushing for uninterrupted progression of the proceedings.
