Azruddin Mohamed’s tax evasion case: Court will have a problem if absences persist – Magistrate warns after no-show

United States (US)-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed was a no-show at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where a tax evasion case against him by the Guyana Revenue Authority is ongoing.
Mohamed’s lawyer, Damian Da Silva, told acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty that his client was travelling from Linden, Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) when he was called in by police for questioning, and as such, he headed straight to the police station.

The Magistrate asked why the defendant would choose to appear before the police rather than the court. In response, the lawyer referenced the ongoing police investigation.
The matter was then adjourned to August 7, with the chief Magistrate telling the defence lawyer to advise his client accordingly because the court would have a problem if he continues to be absent.
On May 29, Mohamed was placed on $500,000 bail for tax evasion and fraudulent declaration charges.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charges of fraudulent declaration to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and fraudulent evasion of taxes regarding his Lamborghini.
The US-sanctioned businessman is also being represented by attorneys Siand Dhurjon and Darren Wade.
The United States Department of Justice, under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), had provided an original invoice for the Lamborghini Aventador, which was billed to Azruddin Mohamed himself, to the tune of US$695,000.
In his previous declarations to the court, Mohamed claimed to have spent US$76,000 on the luxury car, a difference of some US$619,000.

In April, GRA officials, backed by police, attempted to seize several luxury vehicles – including a Lamborghini Roadster, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Land Cruisers – from the Mohamed’s residence in Houston, Greater Georgetown. The operation was aborted after a hostile crowd, reportedly paid by Mohamed, blocked access to the premises.
GRA has said that the vehicles were imported under the remigrant scheme but failed to meet key requirements, including residency status and proper declaration of value. The total tax liability in the matter is estimated at nearly $900 million.
Among the outstanding amounts are: $479.7 million for a 2020 Ferrari registered to Hana Mohamed; $371.7 million for the Lamborghini tied to Azruddin Mohamed; $320 million for a 2023 Rolls Royce registered to Bibi Mohamed; and additional millions linked to a Range Rover and Toyota Land Cruisers under various family names.
In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced that it sanctioned Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, several of their companies, and a Guyanese government official, Mae Thomas, for their roles in alleged public corruption in Guyana.
According to a statement from OFAC, this is related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports, noting that between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.