Extradition proceedings against Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, will continue at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court after acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh refused an application to stay the matter.
The ruling clears the way for the Magistrates’ Court to proceed with the extradition case, even as attorneys for the Mohameds have indicated their intention to appeal the decision.
The applicants had approached the High Court seeking to halt the proceedings while challenging the constitutionality of amendments made to the Fugitive Offenders Act in 2009. Arguments on the application for a stay were heard last Thursday. Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, who represents the Mohameds, argued that the circumstances of the case warranted a pause in the Magistrate’s Court proceedings while the constitutional issues were determined.
However, Attorney General Anil Nandlall strongly opposed the application, maintaining that it formed part of a deliberate attempt to delay the extradition process. He told the court that extradition law is well-settled and that no compelling legal grounds were raised to justify stopping the committal hearing.
Following the High Court’s ruling on Monday, the Attorney General explained that the Chief Justice’s decision aligns with the policy and intent of the law, as well as established judicial authorities in Guyana, the wider Caribbean, North America and the Commonwealth. He noted that courts have consistently rejected interlocutory applications aimed at staying or delaying extradition proceedings before a committal hearing is completed.
Nandlall explained that the legal framework already provides an extensive regime for challenges after a committal decision is made.
“Clearly, the scheme of the law, the intent of the law to allow the extradition process to be fluid and for those who are aggrieved by it to invoke the remedial provision that the law permits for challenges to take place but in a manner contemplated and provided for by the law,” Nandlall told reporters.
The court has indicated that it will hear the substantive constitutional challenge on January 14. On that same date, the court is also expected to consider a separate application filed by the Mohameds, in which they allege that the government is biased against them due to political rivalry and therefore lacks the authority to extradite them.
“The truth of the matter is that these, as I said before are all proceedings intended to delay. When the Magistrate’s process is completed, assuming that an order of committal is made, these identical challenges will be filed against,” Nandlall said.
The Attorney General described the multiple applications as an abuse of process.
Following Monday’s ruling, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde said they are disappointed and intends to appeal to the Full Court.
“We are disappointed that the Chief Justice did not find that on the arguments and have a regard to the circumstances of this case that a stay was warranted in the circumstances.
“We disagree with the decision respectfully and we will be filing an appeal to the Full Court and we will be seeking a stay of the proceedings at the level of the Full Court,” Forde stated.
The appeal will be filed later Monday or Tuesday morning.
“The stay has not been granted but there are other strategic moves that we will make tomorrow to bring this proceedings to some degree of a halt so that these issues can be determined,” Forde said.
He cautioned that the matter is likely to be a long and arduous process, potentially progressing through the Court of Appeal and ultimately to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), regardless of whether a stay is granted at this stage.
The Mohameds remain on $150,000 bail each.
The U.S. government, on October 30, 2025, requested the extradition of the father and son under the extradition treaty between Guyana and the United Kingdom, which remains in force in Guyana under Section 4(1)(a) of the Fugitives Offenders Act, Cap. 10:04, as amended by Act No. 10 of 2024.
The Mohameds are facing multiple charges in the United States, unsealed on October 6, 2025, by a Southern District of Florida Grand Jury. The indictment includes wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs-related violations connected to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.
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