US extradition request for Mohameds not politically motivated – Theriot

Last Updated on Monday, 30 March 2026, 23:03 by Writer

United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot says the extradition request for city billionaire gold dealers Azruddin Mohamed and Nazar “Shell” Mohamed was not politically motivated.

“The government of Guyana did not indict the Mohammeds, and I can assure you that there’s nothing political about it from the US side,” she told News Source‘s weekly social media interview programme, SOURCES.

Lawyers for the Mohameds have been arguing in extradition commital proceedings in the magistrates’ court as well as civil proceedings in the High Court that their clients were victims of political persecution at the instigation of the Guyana government because the younger Mohamed decided to contest the 2025 general elections.

The Irfaan Ali administration has denied those claims.

The US Ambassador said American authorities had concrete evidence that the Mohameds were guilty of financial crimes — wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.

She reiterated that the US does not pursue criminal charges for political reasons but on the basis of fool-proof evidence.

“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 said.

The US Ambassador said American authorities were ready to “move forward with the process” almost immediately after the magistrate decides.

She said it was not only the US taxpayers who were allegedly impacted by the actions of the Mohameds.

“To be fair, it’s not just the United States taxpayers that were defrauded. I mean, let’s be clear about that. I’ll just leave it at that,” she said.

Concerning speculation that there could be destabilisation in Guyana if the Mohameds are extradited, Ms Theriot hoped that would not occur, saying that would “be really tragic, because we’re simply holding people that we believe are guilty of a crime accountable for that crime.”

The American envoy said if the court rules that the Mohameds should not be extradited, the US “will have to abide by that” but they will remain sanctioned under US law.”

The Mohameds were sanctioned in June, 2024 by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly smuggling more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold and evading over US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana government.

Almost immediately, the Bank of Guyana cancelled their foreign exchange dealers’ licence.

Commercial banks also closed the businessmen’s accounts and insurance companies have reportedly stopped doing business with them.

The effect of the OFAC sanctions also mean that US businesses and companies are barred from doing business with the Mohameds.

Ahead of the sanctions, the Mohameds had pulled out from the Vreed-en-Hoop shore base investment, clearing the way for ExxonMobil to contract use of that facility.