THE timing of the extradition process involving businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed came under sharp scrutiny on Thursday when a senior government official explained why key documents were delivered outside of normal office hours.
Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, told the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday that she delivered crucial extradition documents concerning both businessmen.
The witness explained that while the ministry officially closes at 16:30hrs, she is effectively on call 24/7, and that prompted her immediate action.
The extradition request from the United States Embassy was received on Thursday, October 30, 2025, after regular business hours, relating to charges facing the Mohameds in a Florida court, including wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. The pair are contesting their extradition.
During cross-examination by defence attorney Siand Dhurjon, Roopchand-Edwards was questioned about why she did not deliver the documents the following business day, Friday, October 31, 2025.
She maintained that she “took it that night for a reason,” referring to Thursday night, October 30, 2025. Although she admitted knowing that Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond was awaiting the documents, she insisted that she was not duty-bound to deliver them immediately.
Dhurjon pressed her on multiple points, asking, “You were duty bound to take it to her [Minister Walrond] that night,” before noting that only one day—Friday, October 31, 2025—remained before the court could convene and potentially issue warrants or remand the defendants.
The Permanent Secretary repeatedly disagreed, stating, “I totally disagree. I did not know.”
Nazar and Azruddin were arrested by Guyana Police on October 31, 2025, following the United States’ extradition request and after the Minister of Home Affairs had issued her Authority to Proceed.
In extradition matters, an Authority to Proceed is a formal legal document issued by the government that authorises the court to begin extradition proceedings against a person who is wanted by another country.
The defence attorney put it to the witness that the United States had sent the extradition request for Ronley Floyd Bynoe on November 4, 2025, and that the minister had issued her Authority to Proceed three months later, to which she responded, “No, your honour.”
The attorney further questioned her about the pace of the Mohameds’ extradition proceedings, referencing Ronley Floyd Bynoe’s case. Attorney Dhurjon highlighted that the Mohameds’ extradition was moving at “breakneck speed” and suggested it was influenced by significant governmental and political considerations.
The prosecution witness acknowledged that she had read about Bynoe’s extradition in the media. Dhurjon suggested it was possible she knew the minister had executed the Authority to Proceed in relation to the Mohameds and forgot, to which she responded, “Maybe.”
The cross-examination also addressed the urgency of submitting the Mohameds’ extradition documents before Parliament convened on Monday, November 3, 2025, but Roopchand-Edwards maintained she did not consider it a critical factor.
During the afternoon session, defence attorney Dhurjon requested access to the court records, stating, “we wish to apply for a full copy of your depositions. Please Your Worship. After today’s bundle is officiating.”
In response, Magistrate Latchman outlined strict conditions for reviewing the material, citing security concerns.
She said: “In relation to the core copy of the depositions… while the court is not opposed to that application, I will suggest, at this point in time, that you have someone sit and look through the depositions, and the orderly or the clerk will be present. There will be no copying of the depositions, and no phones or devices will be allowed next to the depositions. That is for the security purposes of the evidence.”
The magistrate further explained that the restriction was necessary because “the defence would have been indicating, on numerous occasions, something was leaked that ought to have been confidential. What was it that was leaked?”
Attorney Dhurjon in response said that confidential medical information had been circulated online, stating, “We have every reason to believe that the medical, the personal medical report of Mr. Nazar Mohamed… found its way into the nether regions of social media personalities.”
In the end, the court ruled that the defence could examine the documents but “without cameras, without iPads, without iPhones, without smartphones, without any device with a camera,” and confirmed that “No copies of the deposition will be issued for security purposes.”
When Dhurjon inquired about the dates and contracts the government holds with United States lobbyist firms, the witness replied, “No, I can’t recall that date,” adding that the contracts were likely signed by predecessors, though she could not say definitively.
The defence lawyer then requested disclosure of these contracts and communications regarding the Mohameds, but the prosecution stated there was no obligation to provide them and confirmed it did not possess the documents, noting the defence could subpoena them if necessary.
The court acknowledged that full disclosure had been made, declined to order the contracts and communications, and deferred further cross-examination of the Permanent Secretary.
Magistrate Latchman indicated that her court will be on vacation from March 2 to 9. Consequently, the extradition proceedings are scheduled to continue on March 12 and 13, and then on March 16, 17, and 18.
On the morning of October 31, 2025, both father and son were taken into custody in Georgetown in connection with the extradition request from the United States of America.
The Mohameds—owners of Mohamed’s Enterprise—remain on $150,000 bail each as the matter progresses.
Conditions of their bail required them to surrender their passports and report weekly to the Ruimveldt Police Station, measures intended to ensure their availability for ongoing legal proceedings.
The father, 72, and son, 38, are facing an 11-count indictment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. They are jointly charged on 10 counts, while Azruddin faces an additional count concerning the importation of a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster SVJ into Guyana.
Court documents alleged that Azruddin and his father conspired to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting and customs-related violations connected to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.
The indictment was issued by a grand jury in October 2025.
According to the filings, Nazar owns 90 per cent of Mohamed’s Enterprise, with Azruddin holding the remaining 10 per cent. The two face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the most serious charge.
In June 2024, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, along with their business entities, were placed under sanctions by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over allegations of gold smuggling and large-scale corruption, including claims that more than US$50 million in taxes owed to the Guyanese state were evaded.
U.S. authorities are believed to have launched their investigation into the Mohameds in the mid-2010s, supported by intelligence sharing and law-enforcement co-operation between Guyana and the United States that dates back to around 2016–2017.
The probe involved several U.S. agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
