–emphasises that extradition matters are strictly within an international framework

EFFORTS to treat international financial crimes as domestic matters are misguided, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall S.C., has stated, warning that failure to act responsibly in high-profile extradition matters could send the wrong global signal that Guyana is willing to stand apart from international obligations.
The Attorney General made these remarks on Friday evening during a televised interview with the state media, where he stated that there are international laws in place to keep financial systems clean, secure and to ensure that transnational crimes are properly dealt with.
Nandall reiterated that Guyana has clear legal and moral obligations to co-operate in the fight against organised international crime and noted that the extradition proceedings against U.S.-indicted Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed, are administrative and procedural and not to be tried as a criminal trial in the domestic courts.
As he made it clear that extradition is not a complicated process, Nandlall said: “Guyana has a duty as part of its global obligation to participate in the fight against transnational crimes, organised crimes, and criminality generally, to assist in this process, and Guyana has a track record of so doing.”
The Attorney General further explained Guyana’s expansive statutory legal framework and commitment to international obligations, dating back to when Guyana was previously on money-laundering blacklists by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in 2013 and the European Union (EU) until 2019 due to non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation.
He noted that the country has since made significant progress and has passed the necessary legislation and implemented reforms.
“Once the international financial network is contaminated by illicit and organised criminal activity, then the whole world is contaminated, and that is what we have to get into our heads. This is not a minor fraudulent offence about not declaring customs duties or not paying the right customs duties. This is the movement of gold, and you’re using the American customs department,” Nandlall said, noting that the integrity of the global system was compromised by the Mohameds.
The father-and-son duo are facing 11 charges in a Florida court – including money laundering, bribery, mail and wire fraud and tax evasion.
As extradition proceedings began on October 31, the lawyers representing the U.S alleged that the Mohameds’ operations include connections in high offices in Venezuela, the U.S. and the Middle East, and warned that their connections posed a serious hindrance to the course of justice.
The U.S. prosecution team further noted that the father-and-son duo are key figures in an “international criminal enterprise.”
Amidst the explosive allegations being posed by the U.S. team, it was further alleged that the Mohameds have supported local criminal activities and civil unrest, which have undermined public order and security in Guyana.