An opposition politician who is set to become Guyana’s opposition leader when parliament convenes in the coming weeks has been indicted on a string of charges by a federal grand jury in Florida linked to a massive gold smuggling, tax evasion, and money laundering scheme in recent years.
Federal authorities last week unsealed the indictments of Azruddin Mohamed, 38, the leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party which won 16 of the 65 seats in general elections last month, surprisingly becoming the Caricom nation’s main opposition party.
But while it is unclear if Guyanese authorities will move to extradite him to the U.S., Mohamed and his father, Nazar, are facing a string of charges linked to their cash-flush gold mining and exporting businesses in Guyana. The indictments were unsealed last week in the Southern District of Florida. Each could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Last year, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on the Mohameds for allegedly participating in a scheme to ship more than 10,000 kilograms of gold to the U.S. and avoiding $50 million in taxes to Guyana.
The unsealed document accused the Mohameds of operating a fraudulent scheme between 2017 and mid-2024 with the intention “to further the objects of the conspiracy, combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others, known and unknown to the grand jury, to commit offenses against the United States.”
It alleged that the family had reused empty boxes with official state revenue seals for gold shipments “to make it appear that Mohamed’s enterprise had paid Guyana taxes and royalties on shipments of gold when, in truth and in fact, the Mohamed’s enterprise had not paid them on those shipments of gold.” The indictment also accused the businessmen of bribing customs and other officials to accept fake paperwork to allow shipments to be sent to the U.S.
The indictments come just as preparations are underway for the new parliamentary term following general elections on September 1.
Formed only at the end of May, the WIN party surprised the Guyanese electorate by winning 16 of the 65 parliamentary seats, unseating A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as the country’s main opposition outfit. Azruddin Mohamed, who drives luxury cars around the capital city of Georgetown, has already indicated that he will take up the opposition leader’s position when parliament resumes in the coming weeks.
Officials say that the younger Mohamed will still be able to serve as opposition leader until and unless he is convicted by a court. “There is nothing to stop him unless he is convicted. Only then he can’t serve as a parliamentarian,” Assembly Clerk Sherlock Issacs told this publication.
The administration of President Irfaan AIi, which won a second consecutive term last month, has accused Azruddin Mohamed of forming a political party to seek parliamentary protection from extradition. Mohamed has denied these allegations.
Before the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him, the Mohamed family had been one of the main financiers of the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP). President Ali had used security guards employed by Mohamed for personal protection during the 2020 campaign and also used a bulletproof vehicle belonging to the family while on the campaign trail. But the administration quickly distanced itself from any links to the family once the sanctions had been imposed. Their businesses and commercial bank accounts were closed, guards disarmed, and local enterprises banned from conducting any transactions with the family.