SOCU to lay charges after illegal cambio bust, Azruddin Mohamed denies accusation

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 February 2026, 23:39 by Writer

The Guyana Police Force’s Special Organised Unit (SOCU) Wednesday night released a video to back up its claim that an illegal cambio was busted at the now shuttered Mohamed’s Enterprise on Lombard Street, but proprietor Azruddin Mohamed denied that foreign exchange trading was being done at the location.

“The search was conducted based on credible information that the cambio was operating even though the license was revoked. Essentially, this information led the law enforcement agencies to conduct operations which proved that the information of continued Cambio services without the required license was credible,” SOCU alleged.

The video, which was time-stamped January 27, 2026, and released by the police force shows one of the men, who was arrested on Wednesday giving a woman money through a cashier cage.

It appeared that the person, who went to conduct what appeared to be a transaction, was wired with a video recording device.

However, Mr Mohamed denied that an illegal cambio was being operated there.

“That is untrue. Never ever!!! I looked at the video and I am not seeing no USD (United States dollars),” Mr Mohamed, who is also Guyana’s Leader of the Opposition, told Demerara Waves Online News.

The video shows the man holding what appeared to be a bank note after which he counts a few notes and gives the woman who leaves almost immediately.

In a second video dated January 28, 2026, another man in the cashier cage counted what he audibly said was “22” as he handed someone outside. The person counted the four GY$5,000 bills and two GY$1,000 bills.

Mr Mohamed – whose foreign exchange dealer’s licence was revoked in June 2024 almost immediately after he and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for alleged gold smuggling and related tax evasion from the Guyana government – confirmed that hundreds of US dollars were in the building. However, he said that amount could not be proof that an unlicensed cambio was in operation.

“If we were buying usd how come we had just a small amount of GYD and only 500 USD. We should have had thousand or even millions of USD,” he said.

Shortly after the search and seizure of the money and several boxes of documents, he told reporters that just under GY$2 million was taken away from police.

Video on his Facebook page showed a black plastic bag of money being emptied on the floor of his Lombard Street building.

Mr Mohamed said the monies were being kept to assist the less fortunate who turn up on a daily basis.

SOCU said charges would be laid shortly. The unit said several persons were taken into custody and were assisting with ongoing enquiries. “Investigations remain active and further enforcement action will be taken where the evidence so warrants.”

Mr Mohamed said the five staff members, who were arrested on Wednesday, were released at 8 p.m. on their own recognisance.

SOCU said it was conducting a detailed examination of the items that were seized. “During the course of the operation, officers uncovered evidence of illegal financial operations and additional materials believed to be connected to unlawful activities were recovered at the location. All items seized are currently subject to active forensic and financial investigation,” SOCU said.

Though the exact offences were not mentioned in its statement, SOCU said its “targeted joint law enforcement operation” has unearthed credible information that illicit activities were taking place at the premises.

The Guyana Police Force said Wednesday’s action was part of an intensified national and regional security strategy aimed at disrupting organised criminal networks engaged in gold smuggling, illicit financial flows, unlicensed money exchange operations and related serious offences. “It reflects strengthened coordination among domestic law enforcement agencies, joint services and regional partners to confront cross-border criminal activity and protect the integrity of Guyana’s financial and security architecture,” SOCU added,

SOCU said the Guyana government remained unwavering in its commitment to combat illegal activities, including the purchase, smuggling and sale of gold, money laundering, illegal cambio services and associated financial crimes.

In close collaboration with regional counterparts and international partners, the law enforcement agency said Guyana would continue to pursue coordinated enforcement operations to safeguard economic stability, strengthen border security and ensure that those engaged in unlawful conduct are held accountable under the law.

SOCU said the video evidence confirms that Mr Mohamed’s claims of political persecution and vindictiveness were false.

That police unit, which is part of Guyana’s anti-money laundering architecture, asserted that it is a professional agency that “performs its lawful functions with a strict mandate, without any political influences and would like to categorically state that no one is above the law when enforcing its statutory duties.”