Committal hearing for US-sanctioned LOO, father to resume today 

US extradition request

The extradition committal hearing for United States-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, will resume today before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The hearing comes after months of litigation at various levels of the court and several other filings by the US-indicted father-son duo’s lawyers, Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon, and Damien Da Silva.

Over the past months, the Mohameds have sought to prevent the extradition hearings from resuming by appealing a decision of Chief Justice (acting) Navindra Singh in a separate constitutional matter they had brought before the local courts. That matter challenges the legality of certain provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act.
On August 26, the Court of Appeal ruled that it would hear the appeal on October 13. However, the court also directed that the Magistrate must proceed with the extradition proceedings while refraining from making a final determination until the Court of Appeal has ruled on the constitutional matter.
Dissatisfied with the order, the Mohameds moved to the CCJ to appeal that decision. In fact, the Mohameds asked the CCJ for several orders, including to stay the extradition committal hearing, all of which were dismissed.
On July 29, the CCJ had also dismissed an appeal by the Mohameds challenging the authority to proceed (ATP) on the grounds of alleged political bias.
Speaking on the case, Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall on Tuesday highlighted that recent rulings by the Guyana Court of Appeal (CoA) and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) have “unequivocally” cleared the way for the Magistrate to proceed with hearings on the United States’ extradition request for the two men, who are wanted to face financial-crime charges.
Speaking during his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday evening, Nandlall emphasised that the rulings by the two courts “now pave the way unequivocally for the Magistrate to resume the hearing”.
In fact, the AG noted that the Magistrate is now acting under orders granted by the courts, expressing that “the Magistrate ought not to be in doubt”.

Constitutional Challenge
The current appeal considers the Mohameds’ constitutional challenge to certain provisions of the Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act.
Justice Singh found in February that Section 8(3)(B) of the Act was inconsistent with the Constitution of Guyana while upholding the constitutionality of the other provisions challenged by the Mohameds.
The Mohameds, however, filed an appeal in the CoA, where they also sought a stay of the proceedings before Magistrate Latchman pending determination of their substantive constitutional appeal.
The state, led by Nandlall, opposed the application and urged the CoA to allow the extradition proceedings to continue.
The state opposed the application on the basis that allowing the Magistrates’ Court proceedings to continue would not undermine the Mohameds’ constitutional appeal or result in their immediate surrender to the United States.
It argued that the men would retain access to legal safeguards, including appellate review, habeas corpus and bail, while another stay would cause further delays to the already interrupted extradition proceedings. The CoA subsequently allowed the committal proceedings before Magistrate Latchman to continue but barred her from making any final disposition in the matter pending the determination of the constitutional matter.

Political Bias
The CCJ had previously granted an interim stay on March 25, 2026, temporarily halting the extradition proceedings while it considered the Mohameds’ appeal challenging the ATP on grounds of alleged political bias.
The stay remained in effect until July 29, 2026, when the CCJ dismissed the appeal and discharged the interim stay, clearing the way for the proceedings before the Magistrate’s Court to resume.

Crimes
The extradition proceedings stem from a formal request made by the US in October 2025 for the surrender of Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed.
A US federal grand jury in Florida indicted the two men on allegations including wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and customs violations.
The US is seeking their extradition to face prosecution on the federal charges. The allegations are linked to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax-evasion scheme.
US prosecutors have alleged that the men evaded taxes and royalties on more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold through falsified customs declarations and the reuse of export seals.
The Mohameds have remained on $150,000 bail each since their arrest in October 2025, with conditions requiring them to surrender their passports and report weekly to the Ruimveldt Police Station.