There is nothing political about the indictment of Guyanese father/son duo, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, says United State Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot.
She made this comment and more during a recent interview on Sources with Svetlana Marshall.
“So, the United States does not pursue criminal charges for political reasons. We do it because we have hard unequivocal evidence against a person. Why would we take on a case we don’t think we’re going to win? That’s just a waste of the US taxpayers’ money. So, we firmly believe that they’re guilty of the crimes that they’re being indicted for. It’s in the Guyanese judiciary’s hands at this point and you know, we’re ready to move forward,” Theriot said.
Asked about the possible “destablisation” of Guyanese political landscape if Azruddin, the Leader of the Opposition, is successfully extradited, the Ambassador responded, “I hope that’s not the case here in Guyana because I hope that destabilization doesn’t occur. I mean, that would be really tragic because we’re simply holding people that we believe are guilty of a crime, accountable for that crime”.
The Ambassador said she hopes that Guyanese understand that the process to hold the Mohameds accountable is “being done by the book, based on the law, and it’s not politically, certainly not politically motivated from our side”.
Asked about implications if the extradition is not granted, the Ambassador said that the Court’s decision will have to be respected.
“[If] that would be the decision that has been made in your court system and we will have to abide by that. They will remain sanctioned under US law,” the Ambassador declared.
Last week, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) granted an interim stay of the ongoing extradition proceedings against the duo, effectively pausing the committal hearing before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court (GMC). The regional court also set April 21, 2026, at 09:00 hrs for the hearing of the substantive appeal.
The Mohameds were sanctioned in 2024 by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over allegations tied to an illegal gold export and money laundering scheme involving under-declared shipments, which is at the centre of the US’ extradition request.
They are facing serious allegations in a federal criminal case filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The indictment alleges that the Mohameds conspired to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
