U.S. grand jury indicts Azruddin Mohamed, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed for wire fraud, money laundering on gold exports, Lamborghini

Last Updated on Monday, 6 October 2025, 22:03 by Writer

A United States (U.S.) grand jury has indicted city businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed on charges of wire and mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, stemming from tax evasion on gold exports and the importation of a Lamborghini luxury car.

If found guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, the Mohameds, who were sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), separately, could face a maximum of 20 years on each count, maximum supervised release of three years, a maximum fine of US$250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss.

On the charges of wire fraud, they could also be sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and maximum supervised release of three years and a fine of US$250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss. The grand jury is also seeking a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment, three years supervised release and a fine of US$500,000 or the value of the property involved in the transaction for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Mr Mohamed is tipped to be Guyana’s Opposition Leader after his We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, won 16 seats from 109,075 votes in the September 1 general and regional elections.

The U.S. is also asking the court that “upon conviction…as alleged in this Indictment, the defendants shall forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to such offense.”

The indictment states that the property directly subject to forfeiture as a result of the alleged offenses includes, but is not limited to a shipment containing approximately US$5.3 million in gold bars shipped from Guyana by Mohamed ‘s Enterprise and seized at Miami International Airport on June 11, 2024.

The unsealed indictment states that in the case of Mr Azruddin, from in or around 2017, and continuing through on or about June 11 , 2024, in Miami-Dade County in the Southern District of Florida, and elsewhere, the defendants, did knowingly, and with the intent to further the objects of the conspiracy, combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others, known and unknown to the grand jury, to commit offenses against the United States.

The indictment states that the purpose of the conspiracy was for the defendants to unlawfully enrich themselves and defraud the government of Guyana in connection with taxes and royalties owed. The U.S. accuses the Mohameds of reusing empty boxes with intact Guyana Revenue Authority and Guyana Gold Board seals for “shipments of gold to make it appear that Mohamed’s Enterprise had paid Guyana taxes and royalties on shipments of gold when, in truth and in fact, Mohamed’s Enterprise had not paid them on those shipments of gold.”

The grand jury also accuses the Mohameds of paying bribes to Guyanese government officials, including customs officials, so that customs officials would accept shipments of gold by Mohamed’s Enterprise with duplicate paperwork and reused GRA and GGB seals from Miami to Mohamed’s Enterprise office in Guyana thereby avoiding the proper payment of Guyanese taxes and royalties.

In terms of the Lamborghini purchase and exportation to Guyana, the U.S. grand jury says Azruddin Mohamed directed an unnamed individual to acquire a Lamborghini from California that cost approximately US$680,000 for his benefit, caused the shipment of the Lamborghini via private and commercial interstate carrier from Miami to Guyana, directed Individual 1 to create an invoice to make it falsely appear that the Lamborghini cost US$75,300 when, in truth and in fact, the Lamborghini cost approximately US$680,000, and caused the false Lamborghini invoice to be presented to the GRA and thereby avoided over one million dollars in taxes he owed to the GRA.

The Mohameds were once investors in Vreed-en-Hoop Shorebase but after word surfaced that they could have been sanctioned by OFAC, they exited the investment because U.S. laws bar companies and individuals from doing business with OFAC-sanctioned individuals and entities.