GEORGETOWN – Vice President and PPP/C General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has launched a political and legal offensive, yesterday demanding that local law-enforcement agencies “immediately” investigate and “sniff out” all “corrupt” public officials who allegedly collaborated with prominent businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, in a massive gold smuggling scheme.
The explosive call for an internal corruption probe follows the recent U.S. indictment of the father-son duo on 11 federal charges, including fraud, money laundering, and related offenses, charges that stem from a systematic operation to evade taxes on gold exports.
The Gold Board Under Scrutiny
Speaking at a press conference at Freedom House, Dr. Jagdeo made it clear that the investigation must target multiple government agencies, specifically calling out the nation’s gold regulatory body: “The GRA, the police, must immediately start the investigation of all of those corrupt officials who collaborated, and the Gold Board, who collaborated with the Mohameds in smuggling the gold, in every period, in the APNU period as well as the period under the PPP,” Dr. Jagdeo said.
He emphasized that the scope of the investigation must be comprehensive and non-partisan, covering the conduct of officials across both the previous APNU+AFC Coalition administration and the current PPP/C tenure.
The Massive Tax Fraud Claims
The U.S. indictment, which was entered into the court’s record on October 2, 2025, details a complex, multi-year conspiracy.
The filing allegedly states that Mohamed’s Enterprise, where Nazar Mohamed holds a 90% stake and Azruddin holds 10%, defrauded the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) by engaging in practices designed to avoid lawful reporting and compliance obligations for gold exports to Miami and Dubai.
Jagdeo highlighted that the GRA has already conducted its own “extensive assessment” and allegedly unearthed billions in unpaid taxes. He added: “I expect that a full-fledged investigation would be launched into those people from the Gold Board…who may have been complicit in assisting the Mohameds to evade the massive sum of taxes.”
The indictment cites severe U.S. legal provisions, including those covering wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering conspiracy, ensuring that any official found to have aided the fraud faces serious criminal exposure both at home and abroad.
