Mohameds arrested for extradition to U.S.

Nov 01, 2025 News

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— facing US$50M gold smuggling, money-laundering charges

─ U.S. indictment alleges massive gold export fraud, tax evasion, and customs conspiracy dating back to 2017

(Kaieteur News) – Businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed, —the powerful father-and-son duo behind Mohamed’s Enterprise were arrested early Friday morning by ranks of the Guyana Police Force, acting on a warrant issued by a Georgetown magistrate following a formal extradition request from the United States.

The arrests come less than a month after a U.S. Grand Jury in the Southern District of Florida unsealed a sweeping indictment on October 6, 2025, charging the Mohameds with wire fraud, mail fraud, money-laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs-related offences linked to a US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.

According to the indictment, first reported by Kaieteur News, the Mohameds allegedly defrauded the Government of Guyana between 2017 and June 2024 by evading export taxes and royalties on over 10,000 kilograms of gold, using falsified customs declarations and re-used export seals to disguise unpaid duties. The document also details a US$5.3 million undeclared gold shipment seized at Miami International Airport, as well as the under-invoicing of a luxury vehicle worth more than US$680,000.

The extradition request, transmitted to the Guyana Government on October 30, 2025, was made under the U.K.–Guyana Extradition Treaty, which remains in force pursuant to the Fugitive Offenders Act (Cap. 10:04) as amended in 2024.

A team of attorneys: Terrence Williams, K.C., Herbert McKenzie, and Celine Deidrick presented the Authority to Proceed and the Application for Arrest Warrant to the Magistrate, leading to Thursday’s operation

The U.S. investigation reportedly began in the mid-2010s, with cross-border law enforcement cooperation between Guyana and the U.S. involving the DEA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In June 2024, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Mohameds and Mohamed’s Enterprise, accusing them of trade-based money-laundering, gold smuggling, and tax evasion.

By March 2025, Guyanese authorities had received a comprehensive dossier of evidence from U.S. agencies under mutual legal assistance arrangements, including documents and photographs of seized gold shipments and forged customs records.

The Mohameds will now be processed under Guyana’s extradition framework, in accordance with the Fugitive Offenders Act, the constitution, and other relevant laws.

See below the full statement issued by the Attorney General Chambers

Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed were arrested this morning by members of the Guyana Police Force duly authorised to do so by a warrant issued by a Magistrate of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court. On the 30th October, 2025, the Government of Guyana received a request from the Government of the United States of America to extradite the two Mohameds pursuant to an extradition treaty between Guyana and the United Kingdom which extends to and remain in force in Guyana under the provisions of Section 4(1)(a) of the Fugitives Offender Act, Cap. 10:04 as amended by Act No. 10 of 2024.

The arrest warrant was issued after a team of lawyers led by Terrence Willaims, KC, Herbert McKenzie and Celine Deidrick, Attorneys-at-Law presented to the Magistrate an Authority to Proceed from the Government of Guyana accompanied by an application for an arrest warrant as is mandated under the provision of the Act.

The Mohameds are the subject of an indictment unsealed on October 6, 2025, by a United States Grand Jury sitting in the Southern District of Florida, which charges them with multiple offences including 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 alleges that between 2017 and June 2024, the accused conspired to defraud the Government of Guyana by evading export taxes and royalties on over 10,000 kilograms of gold, using falsified customs declarations and re-used export seals to disguise unpaid duties. The indictment further references the attempted shipment of US$5.3 million in undeclared gold seized at Miami International Airport, and the alleged under-invoicing of a luxury vehicle valued at over US$680,000.

The investigation into the Mohameds by U.S. authorities is understood to have originated in the mid-2010s, with intelligence and law-enforcement cooperation between Guyana and the United States dating back to 2016–2017. According to the indictment, the alleged fraudulent scheme operated “from in or about 2017” through June 2024.

In June 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Mohameds and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, citing allegations of tax evasion, trade-based money-laundering, and gold smuggling.

The Government of Guyana was first informed of the ongoing U.S. investigation through official diplomatic channels following the June 2024 sanctions. Reports indicate that U.S. agencies involved in the investigation included the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In March 2025, the Government of Guyana received a comprehensive dossier of evidence from U.S. authorities pursuant to mutual legal assistance arrangements. This dossier included documentation relating to gold export irregularities, falsified customs declarations, and undeclared shipments seized in Miami.

The two Mohameds will now be processed in accordance with the extradition framework set out in the provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act, as amended, in due compliance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Guyana and all other relevant laws.

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• Azruddin Mohamed, extradition, gold smuggling, Nazar, sanctions, tax evation

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