—says Guyana ready to act once formal request is made; dismisses claims of political motive in U.S. indictment against Mohameds.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has confirmed that the Government of Guyana is yet to receive any formal extradition request from the United States regarding businessman Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, who were recently indicted on 11 criminal charges in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Speaking on his weekly programme, Issues in the News, on Tuesday evening, the Attorney General stated that the indictments did not come as a surprise, as investigations and groundwork had been underway for some time following the US Treasury Department’s sanctions against the Mohameds in 2024.
“The most sensational news that has gripped Guyana is the indictment that has been laid against Azruddin Mohamed and Nassar Mohamed,” Nandlall said. “The details of that 11-count indictment are in the public domain, and there is no need for me to regurgitate those. I ought not to be surprised that these indictments were laid; they were long in the pipeline. The OFAC sanctions set the first signal, but internally, work was underway.”
He explained that the next legal step depends entirely on a formal request from the US authorities. “The next step is for the Government of the United States of America to request from the Government of Guyana the extradition of the two persons who are in Guyana and who are the subject of the indictment,” Nandlall stated. “This process will be embarked upon within the extradition framework between the two countries, guided by a treaty that dates back to 1924 and the Fugitive Offenders Act, which was last amended in 2024.”
Additionally, Nandlall outlined that extradition between Guyana and the US is not new and has existed for nearly a century and a half, originating from laws established during the British colonial era.
“We have a long-standing extradition relationship with the United States. Guyana, as an independent country, has done dozens of extraditions over the years. Just this year, we did one to the US and one to Canada, and both subjects consented to the process,” he explained.
“I know of no request for extradition that has ever been refused by any Government of Guyana.”
Moreover, he added that Government remains fully committed to its legal obligations under the current extradition framework, but emphasized that the process must begin with a request from Washington. “Guyana has made it clear that it is ready, willing, and able to discharge its legal duties once a request is made. At this point, we are awaiting that request. Once it is received, the requisite legal process will unfold in accordance with the law,” he said.
Nandlall also dismissed public speculation that the indictment or any future extradition could be politically driven. “It is nonsensical to contend that this process is politically motivated. The charges span activities between 2017 and 2024… a period that includes two different governments in Guyana and two in the United States. To suggest that the PPP can influence the US Department of Justice to pursue its political agenda is delusional,” the Attorney General remarked.
He stressed that as Attorney General, he will refrain from commenting further as the process develops, but assured that no ill motive is attached to the matter. “Let me stop short and not say more because I will have to play a role in the process going forward. But I just want to assure that there is no irrelevant or ill motive that has tainted this process,” he said.
Azruddin Mohamed, who also leads the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party, and his father, Nazar Mohamed, have been indicted on 11 charges in the United States, including wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and gold smuggling. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses the two of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme involving gold exports from Guyana.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme resulted in over US$50 million in lost taxes and royalties to the Government of Guyana. It also includes a charge related to the falsification of a Lamborghini invoice, where Azruddin is accused of undervaluing the car’s import cost to evade taxes.
If convicted, the father and son each face up to 20 years in prison per count, along with heavy fines and asset forfeiture. The US Government is also seeking the seizure of assets connected to the alleged crimes.
The charges follow sanctions imposed by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June 2024, which cited large-scale gold smuggling and tax evasion. Following those sanctions, the Government of Guyana suspended the licences of several Mohamed-owned businesses, describing them as a threat to the country’s financial stability and sovereignty. Since then, banks and private companies have also severed ties with the family’s enterprises.
Azruddin Mohamed launched the WIN Party earlier this year and contested the September 1, 2025, General and Regional Elections, where his party secured 16 seats in the National Assembly.
