Attorney General Anil Nandlall has described plans by Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, to appeal Monday’s High Court ruling as yet another attempt to delay their extradition, after their attorney announced that the pair will challenge the decision refusing a stay of the proceedings.
Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde said his clients intend to appeal the ruling by Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, who on Monday rejected an application to stay their extradition proceedings.
Despite the intended appeal, extradition proceedings against the Mohameds are continuing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The applicants had approached the High Court seeking to halt the Magistrates’ Court proceedings while challenging the constitutionality of amendments made to the Fugitive Offenders Act in 2009.
Following Monday’s ruling, Nandlall explained that the Chief Justice’s decision aligns with the policy and intent of the law, as well as with 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 further explained that the legal framework already provides an extensive regime for challenges after a committal decision is made.
“The truth of the matter is that these 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 again,” Nandlall told News Room.
The Attorney General described the multiple applications as an abuse of process.
“Mr Forde himself admitted, when he spoke to the press, that the appeal itself does not operate as a stay. Mr Forde telegraphed, perhaps unwittingly, that the filing of the appeal will be accompanied by, or is part of, some strategic steps. Clearly, to my mind, it is not the merits of the law that are being prosecuted, but rather a strategy—and that is coming from the horse’s mouth,” Nandlall stated.
“The flip side of the coin is that the law Mr Forde is challenging was enacted in 2009. They have only now chosen to challenge that law, even though many persons have been committed and extradited under that very legislation,” he added.
The Mohameds remain on bail in the sum of $150,000 each.
The United States government requested the extradition of the father and son in October last year under the extradition treaty between Guyana and the United Kingdom, which remains in force in Guyana pursuant to Section 4(1)(a) of the Fugitive Offenders Act, Cap. 10:04, as amended by Act No. 10 of 2024.
Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed are facing multiple charges in the United States following an indictment issued on October 6, 2025, by a Southern District of Florida grand jury. The charges include wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs-related offences linked to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.
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