Mohameds hire Florida lawyer, objects to US Ambassador’s comments on case

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 April 2026, 20:46 by Writer

Guyanese billionaire businessmen Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed – who are fighting extradition to the United States to face trial for an 11-count indictment for financial crimes – have hired a Florida lawyer to represent them.

He is Peter A. Quinter, an international lawyer and shareholder in the law firm, Gunster.

Since the filing of the indictment on October 2, 2025 that accuses the duo of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, this is the first time that an American lawyer has been named representing the interests of the accused men.

Mr Azruddin Mohamed on March 19, 2026 told Demerara Waves Online News that eventually his lawyers in the US would address their minds to challenging the indictment. “We want to get this case here sorted out first and then we’ll think about that one over there,” he said, adding that “we’re in talks with our attorneys in the US.”

Though Mr Quinter or no other lawyer has filed in the US court system as representing the Mohameds concerning the indictment, he on Wednesday wrote US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot objecting to her recent comments on SOURCES interview about the wanted men.

“It may not be proper for a U.S. Ambassador to comment on, or attempt to influence, a matter that is actively before the courts of a host country,” Mr Quinter said in a letter dated April 17, 2026.

Ms Theriot last month justified the US’ decision to seek the Mohameds’ extradition. “We do it because we have hard, unequivocal evidence against a person. Why would we take on a case we don’t think we’re going to win? That’s just a waste of the US taxpayers’ money. So we firmly believe that they’re guilty of the crimes that they’re being indicted for” she had said.

But Mr Quinter told Ms Theriot that her remarks amounted to a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The lawyer told the American envoy that it had come to his attention that her recent public statements regarding his clients on a topic that remains pending in the courts of Guyana might not be appropriate for someone in her position.

The lawyer told the US Ambassador that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in her prominent role as a diplomat and ‘head of the mission’ for the US, “there is a duty to respect the laws and customs of the host country.’

He said his client’s company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, and its officers and shareholders who are subject to prosecution in the courts in Guyana are entitled to a fair hearing under the protection of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Specifically, he cited Article 7 of that Declaration that states that all are equal before the law, and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

He added that Article 10 provides that “everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”