THE Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is set to hear a last-ditch challenge by US-indicted businessmen Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, to delay the high‑profile extradition proceedings in the local court.

The CCJ will hear the Mohameds’ application for special leave to appeal, along with the substantive appeal, arising out of a March ruling by the Guyana Court of Appeal which cleared the way for their extradition committal proceedings to continue before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman in Georgetown.

The CCJ had earlier granted an interim stay of those committal proceedings “in the interest of justice,” effectively freezing the local matter until it pronounces on the issues now before it.

At the heart of the case is the Mohameds’ contention that the decision by Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond to issue an Authority to Proceed (ATP) under the Fugitive Offenders Act was influenced by political bias and should not be treated as a purely administrative act immune from judicial review on grounds of bias.

The Court of Appeal rejected that argument and found that the Minister’s issuance of the ATP did not attract claims of actual or perceived bias, prompting the businessmen to move to the CCJ as Guyana’s final appellate court.

The proceedings stem from a United States extradition request made in October 2025 under the 1931 Extradition Treaty, following an indictment in the Southern District of Florida in which the Mohameds are accused of money laundering, wire fraud, tax evasion, bribery and related offences tied to a large‑scale gold‑export scheme.

The duo was arrested and granted bail by the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court as the extradition committal hearing got underway and have since mounted a series of unsuccessful challenges in the High Court and Court of Appeal to halt the process before turning to the CCJ.