THE United States Government assigned a seasoned federal prosecutor to handle forfeiture-related matters in the case sanctioned businessman Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed according to recent filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Court records show that Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Paster has formally entered an appearance on behalf of the United States, specifically “regarding forfeiture issues” in the matter styled United States of America v. Nazar Mohamed et al.
Paster is widely regarded as an experienced prosecutor with a track record in complex, high-value forfeiture and transnational corruption cases.
His assignment is being closely watched, given his recent success in securing major forfeiture judgments involving foreign bribery, sanctions violations and luxury assets held in the United States.
Most recently, Paster was part of a prosecutorial team that obtained a final civil forfeiture judgment exceeding US$20 million linked to a Venezuelan bribery and money-laundering scheme.
That case involved proceeds generated through corrupt payments to officials of Venezuela’s state-owned food agency, with funds laundered through international banking channels and ultimately traced to South Florida.
In a separate but equally high-profile matter, Paster was also involved in the forfeiture of two luxury condominiums in Miami valued at approximately US$1.8 million. Those properties were seized following findings that they were maintained and transferred in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on a Russian national.
The operation formed part of Task Force KleptoCapture, a multi-agency U.S. initiative targeting assets linked to sanctioned oligarchs and foreign corruption.
U.S. authorities have consistently underscored that forfeiture actions are a central tool in disrupting financial crime, particularly where proceeds of corruption, sanctions evasion, or money laundering are routed through U.S. financial systems or real estate markets.
Prosecutors involved in these cases have repeatedly warned that the use of shell companies, nominees, and layered transactions offers no lasting protection from asset recovery actions.
Back home, the Mohameds are currently fighting extradition proceedings.
Back in October last, a federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment charging the father and son with participating in a multi-year scheme to evade millions of dollars in taxes and royalties owed to the Government of Guyana through fraudulent gold export practices and related money laundering activities.
According to court documents, Nazar Mohamed, 72, and Azruddin Mohamed, 38, were owners of Mohamed’s Enterprise, a gold wholesaler and exporter in Guyana that sold gold to buyers in Miami and Dubai.
Guyanese authorities impose approximately a seven-percent tax and duty on exported gold. From about 2017 through at least 2024, the pair allegedly enriched themselves and defrauded the Government of Guyana by concealing the true quantity and value of gold exported by their company.
The indictment alleges that the couple devised a system in which Mohamed’s Enterprise paid taxes and royalties on one shipment of gold to obtain official government seals, then reused those same seals on subsequent shipments to avoid paying additional taxes and royalties. To further their scheme, they allegedly shipped empty boxes bearing Guyanese government seals from Dubai through Miami to Guyana and paid bribes to customs and other government officials to facilitate the illegal shipments.
In total, the pair allegedly exported at least 10,000 kilograms of gold through Miami, causing an estimated loss of approximately $50 million to the Government of Guyana.
Nazar Mohamed is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and mail fraud. Azruddin Mohamed is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud. The indictment also alleges that Azruddin Mohamed engaged in a separate scheme to evade over $1 million in Guyanese taxes in connection with the shipment of a Lamborghini from Miami to Guyana. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $5.3 million in gold bars shipped by Mohamed’s Enterprise that were seized at Miami International Airport on June 11, 2024.
Both were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in June 2024. Azruddin Mohamed, who unsuccessfully ran for president of Guyana in September 2025.
