Unpaid $1.2B taxes: Judge blocks GRA from seizing Mohameds’ luxury vehicles until ruling on tax evasion case

…GRA to appeal Court’s order; cites risk to asset preservation not assured

…Govt stance on family “illegalities” has always been consistent – VP Jagdeo

The High Court has issued an interim interlocutory injunction barring the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) from seizing several high-end luxury vehicles owned by prominent businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, pending a full judicial review of the agency’s $1.2 billion tax evasion claim.
On Friday, Attorney-at-Law Siand Dhurjon, representing the Mohamed family, confirmed that Justice Gino Persaud extended an initial restraining order and granted further legal protection for the Mohamed’s vehicles—including a Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Roadster and two Toyota Land Cruisers, until a substantive hearing on May 15, 2025.
“The injunctions will last until the hearing and determination of the substantive matter. The substantive matter is what we have filed to quash the assessments and to prohibit any seizure or other enforcement action,” Dhurjon said.
The court’s ruling temporarily halts the GRA’s efforts to seize the vehicles, which the agency alleges were imported under false declarations and breaches of the re-migrant scheme—a programme designed to grant tax exemptions to eligible returning residents.
However, in a late press release regarding Friday’s ruling, the GRA stated that it will lodge an Appeal against the ruling, since the preservation of assets is not assured, and no bond has been lodged as is usual in these circumstances
The release also noted that the extension of the Restraining Order has been issued pending a full trial, intended to maintain the status quo, and should not be interpreted as a final court decision.

The Authority reiterated that it has in its possession irrefutable evidence of the said breaches, and the understatement of values of the other vehicles, and will vigorously defend the said matters presently before the Court.
The legal action follows a tense April 5 stand-off at the Mohamed family’s Houston, Greater Georgetown residence, where GRA officers, accompanied by police ranks, attempted to seize the vehicles after months of failed negotiations and repeated notices. They were met by a hostile mob that blocked the entrance with other vehicles, forcing officers to retreat.
According to GRA, efforts to resolve the matter amicably had included three letters and direct email outreach, all of which went unanswered. The agency maintains it has “irrefutable evidence” of tax breaches and is pursuing the matter “without fear or favour.”
The vehicles at the centre of the controversy carry staggering unpaid tax liabilities, including $479.7 million for a 2020 Ferrari; $371.7 million for a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster; $320 million for a 2023 Rolls-Royce; $61.4 million for a 2023 Range Rover, and $24.6 million each for two Toyota Land Cruisers, pushing the total close to $1.2 billion.

PPP has never
protected criminality
Meanwhile, Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly rebutted suggestions that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has shielded the Mohamed family from prosecution. During his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo accused opposition figures and select media outlets of hypocrisy, recalling past claims that the PPP was “protecting” the Mohameds— claims now contradicted by opposition support for the businessmen.
“The PPP has never condoned wrongdoing,” Jagdeo declared. “Back in 2022, I publicly stated the party would not allow any businessman involved in illegal activities to tarnish our reputation. That included Azruddin Mohamed.”
Jagdeo further blasted the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) and their media allies for what he called “a 180-degree reversal” in narrative. He noted that the same opposition leaders who once labelled the Mohameds as a “criminal cabal protected by the PPP” are now rallying around the family, portraying them as victims.
“The tables have turned,” Jagdeo remarked. “They are now meeting with the Mohameds, defending them online, and flooding social media with troll accounts pretending to show public support.”
Moreover, he cited opposition-affiliated figures, accusing them of pushing misleading headlines, including one recently labelling a non-PPP individual as a “PPP official” in connection to United States (US) inquiries related to the Mohameds.
“Roshan Khan, who is not a PPP member, was labelled a PPP official just to fit the narrative,” Jagdeo said. “It’s dishonest.”

GRA defends its actions
While the Mohameds claim they are being politically targeted, the GRA insists its actions are routine and grounded in law.

In a statement issued after the court’s temporary restraining order on April 5, the agency defended its practices as consistent with those applied to public servants, diplomats, and businesses, noting similar high-profile seizures in the past—including that of Bai-Shan-Lin’s luxury vehicles in 2016.
As legal proceedings unfold, attention now turns to the upcoming May 15 hearing, which could determine whether the GRA can proceed with enforcement, or whether the Mohameds will succeed in overturning the tax assessments.
In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced that it sanctioned against 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 (over $10 billion Guyana dollars) in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
Since being sanctioned, the Mohameds have never directly addressed the sanctions imposed by the US Government.