Guyanese police detained Azruddin Mohamed on Friday after Washington requested his extradition on federal charges. Authorities also arrested his father, Nazar Mohamed, following indictments from a Florida grand jury accusing both men of laundering money, bribing officials, evading taxes and committing fraud. The younger Mohamed was poised to assume his role as opposition leader when lawmakers return on Monday.
A Georgetown magistrate granted each defendant bail set at $750,000 with requirements to surrender travel documents and make weekly police visits starting November 7. Their legal team features Siand Dhurjon, Damien DaSilva, Nigel Hughes, Darren Wade and Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde. Prosecutors allege the pair smuggled more than 22,000 pounds of gold while dodging over $50 million in tax obligations. Treasury officials sanctioned the family business in 2023 for similar violations.
The incoming opposition figure told journalists he mines gold but does not export it, calling the prosecution politically driven by the governing People's Progressive Party. His supporters from the We Invest in Nationhood Party rallied outside the court, with General Secretary Odessa Primus condemning what she characterized as deliberate embarrassment. Mohamed retains his parliamentary eligibility during extradition proceedings, which defendants may contest through appeals reaching the Caribbean Court of Justice.
A Georgetown magistrate granted each defendant bail set at $750,000 with requirements to surrender travel documents and make weekly police visits starting November 7. Their legal team features Siand Dhurjon, Damien DaSilva, Nigel Hughes, Darren Wade and Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde. Prosecutors allege the pair smuggled more than 22,000 pounds of gold while dodging over $50 million in tax obligations. Treasury officials sanctioned the family business in 2023 for similar violations.
The incoming opposition figure told journalists he mines gold but does not export it, calling the prosecution politically driven by the governing People's Progressive Party. His supporters from the We Invest in Nationhood Party rallied outside the court, with General Secretary Odessa Primus condemning what she characterized as deliberate embarrassment. Mohamed retains his parliamentary eligibility during extradition proceedings, which defendants may contest through appeals reaching the Caribbean Court of Justice.
