Mohameds tell court extradition process politically motivated

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 February 2026, 14:50 by Writer

City gold dealers, Azruddin and Nazar Shell Mohamed, say the United States’ (US) extradition process for them to face trial in a Florida court for alleged fraud and money laundering has been politically motivated.

“In this case, our whole contention is that this extradition process has been politically motivated. Every facility of government has been deployed to fast track its process,” defence lawyer Siand Dhurjon told the court presided by Principal Magistrate, Judy Latchman.

Mr Dhurjon spent Thursday morning cross-examining Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sharon Roopchand-Edwards to show that she made special efforts to transmit the extradition request to Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond.

Ms Roopchand disagreed with the lawyer’s suggestion that the reason she made it her duty to ensure that the documents were taken to the home affairs minister that Thursday night was that she knew Monday was Parliament and that there was one day for the defendants to be arrested.

The Mohameds were arrested on October 31, 2025.

Mr Azruddin Mohamed, who is the leader of the 16-seat main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), was granted GY$150,000 bail and attended the National Assembly’s first sitting on November 3, 2025 after the general elections that were held in September.

The Permanent Secretary also did not agree with suggestions by the lawyer that she knew there was only one day left for a court to sit and issue warrants and potentially remand the defendants.

Referring to last week’s arrest of Ronley Floyd Bynoe by Guyanese police, supposedly the person for whom the US issued an extradition request last November, the lawyer stated that “Our case is that there is no other extradition in history that has been moved at such a breakneck speed as this one through the governmental channels, the diplomatic and governmental channels.

The lawyer said he was using the Bynoe case “to show that it’s outside of the pattern”. During the morning session, the lawyer took the permanent secretary through the administrative process for transmitting extradition requests from the foreign ministry to the home affairs ministry.

Ms Roopchand-Edwards said she could either have the requests delivered to the Treaty Officer at the home affairs ministry or return directly to the home affairs minister.

The defence has so far failed to have the High Court halt the extradition committal proceedings on the alleged basis that Minister Walrond’s issuance of the Authority To Proceed was infected by political bias against the Mohameds.

The Guyana Court of Appeal will hear that case on March 10.