GEORGETOWN — In a dramatic early-morning operation, police arrested prominent businessmen Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed, father and son, after the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court issued warrants authorizing their detention. The arrests follow a formal extradition request from the United States Government, which accuses the duo of running a multi-million-dollar gold smuggling and tax evasion network.
According to a statement from the Government of Guyana, the U.S. request was received on October 30, 2025, invoking the extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, which remains in effect under Guyana’s Fugitives Offenders Act (Cap. 10:04), recently amended by Act No. 10 of 2024.
A team of attorneys, including Terrence Williams, KC, Herbert McKenzie, and Celine Deidrick, presented the Authority to Proceed and an application for arrest warrants before a Georgetown Magistrate, paving the way for the coordinated police operation that led to the Mohameds’ detention.
The arrests stem from a U.S. Grand Jury indictment unsealed on October 6, 2025, in the Southern District of Florida, charging the Mohameds with wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs-related violations tied to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.
Investigators in the U.S. claim that between 2017 and June 2024, the pair orchestrated a scheme to evade royalties and taxes on over 10,000 kilograms of gold exported from Guyana. The indictment alleges that they reused export seals, filed falsified customs declarations, and underreported shipments to disguise unpaid duties.
One highlighted case involves the seizure of US$5.3 million worth of undeclared gold at Miami International Airport, while another cites the under-invoicing of a US$680,000 luxury vehicle. The case reportedly builds on years of intelligence cooperation between Guyanese and U.S. authorities, dating back to 2016–2017.
In June 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Mohameds and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, citing “tax evasion, trade-based money laundering, and gold smuggling.”
In March 2025, Guyanese officials received a dossier of evidence from U.S. investigators, including detailed documentation of export irregularities, customs fraud, and seized shipments.The Mohameds are now expected to face extradition proceedings under Guyana’s Fugitive Offenders framework, which requires judicial oversight and full compliance with constitutional and procedural safeguards.
While their legal team has yet to issue a public statement, the arrests mark the most significant development in Guyana’s deepening cooperation with U.S. law enforcement on financial crimes tied to the gold sector, a trade long plagued by allegations of smuggling and under-declaration.
