No grounds to revoke or vary bail for Opposition Leader — Chief Magistrate rules

Presence of LOO near the president’s private residence

– Extradition proceedings halted for Mohameds to attend funeral
Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman on Friday found no basis to revoke or vary the bail of US-indicted Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed during the ongoing extradition proceedings against him and his father, Nazar Mohamed.
She stressed that the court must be guided by what can be proven, rather than what may be suspected.
“Now, it is universally known that a court cannot act on what is known but can only act on what is proven. There is no basis for this court to revoke or vary the bail of Mr Azruddin Mohamed at this stage. In the circumstances, he remains on bail, with bail conditions attached. That is the ruling of the court. It is not what you know; it is what can be proven,” Latchman stated.
The issue arose during the extradition hearing after prosecuting attorney Glenn Hanoman asked the court to consider whether Azruddin Mohamed had breached his bail conditions, relying on provisions of the Bail Act 2022.
The application stemmed from an ongoing Police investigation into his presence near President Dr Irfaan Ali’s private residence at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD), on Thursday evening.
Hanoman said the investigation remained at an early stage, with Police seeking to establish whether surveillance was being conducted and what, if anything, may have been planned.
However, the prosecution did not present evidence to the court establishing that Azruddin Mohamed had committed an offence. Hanoman maintained that the state was bringing the matter to the Chief Magistrate’s attention for consideration rather than making a formal application for his remand.
The prosecutor argued, however, that Azruddin Mohamed’s detention may be necessary to preserve public order, pointing to the possibility that the investigation could uncover offences as serious as treason, an attempted coup, or even an assassination plot.
As such, he asked the court to take the new investigation into consideration when determining whether the Opposition Leader should remain on bail.
On the other hand, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, who is representing the Mohameds, strongly opposed the application, describing it as “ridiculous, flimsy, and without any substance.”

Forde argued that the prosecution had acknowledged that there was currently no evidence linking Azruddin Mohamed to a criminal offence and that Police were still investigating the matter.
He contended that before bail could be restricted or revoked, the court had to be satisfied by evidence that a charge was likely to be brought and that the anticipated charge was likely to be serious.
Forde also urged the court to consider Azruddin Mohamed’s position as Opposition Leader, arguing that he has constitutional, legal, political, and moral obligations to respond to matters he believes expose corruption and other issues affecting society.

Visit to the area
Defence attorney Siand Dhurjon also told the court that Azruddin Mohamed had informed him that he had visited that area after receiving complaints about President Ali’s alleged acquisition of adjoining property. According to him, his client instructed him that he was seeking information on the matter in keeping with his role as a political leader.
Forde, nevertheless, maintained that there was «absolutely no basis» for the allegation against his client. While acknowledging that President Ali is entitled to protection and security, the Senior Counsel argued that Azruddin Mohamed›s mere presence near the President›s home did not amount to a criminal offence and could not, on its own, justify the revocation of his bail.
In the end, Chief Magistrate Latchman declined to revoke or vary Azruddin Mohamed’s bail, finding that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence before the court to justify such a request. In fact, had the court revoked his bail, he could have been remanded into custody pending the continuation of the proceedings, rather than remaining at liberty subject to his existing bail conditions.
Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed remain on $150,000 bail each pending the determination of the extradition proceedings. Their bail conditions include surrendering their passports and reporting weekly to the Ruimveldt Police Station.
The extradition hearing is set to continue on Monday, September 7, at the Georgetown Magistrates› Courts.

Adjournment
Proceedings broke at noon on Friday after the Mohameds requested and were granted an afternoon break to attend a funeral, although the matter had been scheduled to continue throughout the day.
Azruddin Mohamed was among three men taken to the Leonora Police Station for questioning on Thursday evening after Police intercepted a vehicle near the president’s private residence in Leonora.
Police said officers acted on reports that occupants of a black Toyota Land Cruiser were operating a drone in the area. The vehicle was stopped along the Windsor Forest Public Road, WCD, where officers found a DJI drone in the trunk, along with four cell phones.
Azruddin Mohamed, leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, was travelling in the vehicle with driver Eugene Thorne, 35, and technician Dwayne Ross, 25.
He denied owning or operating the drone and was later released on self-bail. Ross reportedly told Police that the drone belonged to him while acknowledging that his operator’s licence had expired in 2023.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident nearby, Police intercepted another vehicle and questioned its driver, 20-year-old Mario Mohamed.
Follow-up searches at the men’s residences reportedly led to the discovery of a second drone at Ross’s home. The Police investigation remains ongoing.

Extradition
The United States is seeking the extradition of the Mohameds over allegations stemming from a multi-year scheme involving the evasion of taxes and royalties on gold exports, money laundering, and wire fraud.
US authorities alleged that falsified customs declarations and the reuse of Government export seals were used as part of the scheme, which allegedly resulted in approximately US$50 million in revenue losses to the Government of Guyana.
Both father and son were sanctioned by the US Government in 2024 and subsequently indicted in the US in 2025 on criminal charges arising from the alleged gold export and tax-evasion scheme.
The Mohameds continue to challenge their extradition under Guyana’s Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act on various grounds, including a constitutional challenge to provisions of the legislation that remain before the Court of Appeal of Guyana.