Guyanese mining businessmen could be extradited to US, attorney general says

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By Marianna Parraga

GEORGETOWN (Reuters) -Guyanese businessman and politician Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar Mohamed will be extradited to the United States to face fraud and corruption charges, once U.S. authorities formally make the request, Guyana’s attorney general said. 

The businessmen, who own the gold-exporting firm Mohamed’s Enterprise, were indicted in a Florida court last week on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering to enrich themselves and defraud the government of Guyana.

Azruddin Mohamed is positioned to be sworn in as Guyana’s opposition leader by November, after his political party – We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), founded four months ago – won 16 parliamentary seats in Guyana’s general election last month.

“The next step is for the government of the United States of America to request the government of Guyana the extradition of the two persons,” Attorney General Anil Nandlall said late on Tuesday in a show he regularly broadcasts on social media.

“This process, which will be embarked upon, is a legal one and is contained in an extradition framework between the government of the U.S. and the government of Guyana,” he added.

Neither Azruddin nor Nazar Mohamed replied to a request for comment on the charges.

If an extradition request is granted, the businessmen would have the right to challenge it in Guyanese courts, former speaker of Guyana’s Parliament Ralph Ramkarran told Reuters. For Guyana and some of its neighbors, the court of last resort is the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Azruddin Mohamed told local media this week he was assembling a legal team to challenge the U.S. charges and that Guyana’s tax agency notified him and his father last week that they owe the government some $917 million in taxes and penalties.

He also accused Guyana’s ruling People’s Progressive Party of persecuting him due to his foray into politics.

“Fearing the momentum seen at the last election and the cry of the Guyanese people for change, they are doing everything possible to stop me,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Azruddin Mohamed is not expected to be legally barred from serving as opposition leader while facing the U.S. indictment, Ramkarran added. But one of Guyana’s opposition parties called on Wednesday to reach a consensus on who should serve as their leader.

GOLD EXPORTS ON THE RADAR

The mining businessmen are accused of entering into agreements to sell and transport Guyanese gold to buyers in Miami and Dubai by fraudulently reusing Guyana customs declarations and seals, the court for the Southern District of Florida said on Thursday.

They also are accused of paying bribes to Guyanese officials in one of a total of 11 charges. 

At least 10,000 kilograms of gold were exported through Miami since 2017 without payment of Guyanese taxes and royalties, causing a loss to the Guyanese authorities of some $50 million, prosecutors said in the indictment.

The prosecutors are seeking to have the businessmen forfeit property, including a $5.3 million shipment of gold bars seized at a Miami airport last year.

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions last year on the businessmen over fraud allegations.

A company owned by the family was formerly part of a consortium building a $300 million oil logistics base in Guyana for Exxon Mobil.

(Reporting by Kemol King and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Nia Williams and Marguerita Choy)