THE extradition proceedings against prominent gold dealers Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin, both sanctioned by the United States (U.S.), resumed on Monday before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
During Monday’s hearing, the prosecution, led by Jamaican King’s Counsel Terrence Williams, representing the U.S. government, tendered several official documents supporting the United States’ request for the extradition of the two embattled businessmen.
Among the documents submitted were a diplomatic note; a certified declaration from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; duly executed arrest warrants for both men; an authority to proceed; a certificate issued under the Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act and a transcript of the initial hearing held on October 31, 2025.
Prosecutors explained that the documents were submitted to validate the extradition request and confirm that the proper procedures had been followed under the extradition treaty between Guyana and the United States.
Copies of the documents were provided to the defence, whose attorneys requested more time to review them and to obtain disclosure of other relevant documents.
In court, attorney Siand Dhurjon, who represented the Mohameds, informed the magistrate that certain constitutional issues stemming from the extradition proceedings would need to be referred to the High Court.
He noted that full disclosure is necessary to allow the defence to review the documents and determine which matters will need to be addressed before the High Court.
“We did the standard disclosure. It is part of the process. It is the regular, standard work,” Williams told reporters following the court hearing.
Speaking with reporters, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, another attorney for the Mohameds, stated that the defence has not yet had the opportunity to properly review the disclosed documents.
He added that further disclosure is necessary, explaining, “At a preliminary glance, we’ve seen the request from the United States Government to the Government of Guyana, but we have not had the chance to study them in detail. They are extensive documents.”
According to Forde, the documents reviewed so far contain no allegations connecting his clients to Venezuela or the Middle East.
During the men’s initial court appearance, U.S. Government lawyers alleged that the father and son were involved in an international criminal enterprise with connections reaching “high offices” in Venezuela and extending from the U.S. to the Middle East.
Magistrate Latchman subsequently adjourned the proceedings to November 24, when the matter will be called for report and further disclosure, as the court moves toward deciding whether sufficient grounds exist to proceed with extradition.
The Mohameds—owners of Mohamed’s Enterprise—remain on $150,000 bail each. 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.
On the morning of October 31, both father and son were taken into custody in Georgetown in connection with the extradition request from the U.S.
The father and son have been hit with an 11-count indictment in the U.S. Florida Southern District Court. The pair face 10 counts jointly, while Azruddin is charged with an additional count related to the importation of a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster SVJ into Guyana.
Court documents allege 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.
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, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Nazar and Azruddin for engaging in gold smuggling and public corruption, including the alleged defrauding of the Guyana government of over US$50 million in unpaid duty taxes.
Mae Thomas, the former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Labour, was also sanctioned for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for facilitating the awarding of government contracts to the Mohameds.
Mohamed is currently facing criminal charges for falsely declaring the 2020 Lamborghini Roadster SVJ purchase price as US$75,300 instead of US$695,000, allegedly evading $383,383,345 in taxes.
Moreover, the GRA is seeking a court order requiring the Mohamed family to pay an additional $1.2 billion in taxes on the under-declared luxury vehicles, which include a Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 3000, a Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 4000, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari 488 PAD 5000.
Mohamed initiated judicial-review proceedings in the Demerara High Court after the GRA demanded payment of the outstanding taxes and moved to seize the luxury vehicles.
The Mohameds filed judicial-review proceedings to challenge the GRA’s tax assessments and seizure attempts, arguing that the actions were unlawful, unfair, and beyond its legal authority.
The High Court has granted an injunction which effectively bars the GRA from seizing the luxury vehicles while the tax evasion case against the Mohameds remains pending. Justice Gino Persaud will rule on the judicial review application on Friday.
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 Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
