US corruption indictment of billionaire politician won’t block him from Guyana’s parliament

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The recent U.S. indictment accusing Guyana’s soon-to-be legislative opposition leader of money laundering and other corruption charges won’t stand in the way of the billionaire businessman serving in the South American nation’s parliament, experts say.

Azruddin Mohamed, 38, one of Guyana’s wealthiest citizens, is part of a family dynasty that gained its fortune in gold trading, foreign currency exchanges and oil through a family company Mohamed’s Enterprise.

After running a failed campaign for president, Mohamed gained significant political footing in September when he and his newly-formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party scooped up the second highest number of parliamentary seats – 16 of 65 – in Guyana’s elections.

But just as he and other lawmakers were preparing to start their new terms in office, a grand jury in Florida’s Southern District indicted Mohamed on 11 different charges of money laundering, bribery, tax evasion, and wire and mail fraud among others, documents unsealed last week show. His father, Nazar Mohamed, has also been indicted on similar charges.

The case has underscored corruption that continues to run rampant in the highest levels of government in the oil-rich South American nation.

But the charges are unlikely to stand in the way of Mohamed wielding power in the country’s Congress, experts said.

Sherlock Isaacs, the Clerk of the Guyanese parliament has said that Mohamed will legally be able to serve in Parliament “unless and until he is convicted in a court of law.” Once he is, Isaacs said, Mohamed will be barred from doing so.

Mark Kirton, former Director of the Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies, noted Tuesday that such proceedings can wind on.

“The legal process can be lengthy, all the way to extradition,” Kirton said. “He can be a parliamentarian and opposition leader until the case ends.”

In his first public comments since the indictment, Mohamed cast blame Monday on his political opponents, saying “this is not just a personal attack, this is political, this is a fear tactic.”

The indictment is just the latest accusation against the bombastic businessman, who has flaunted his wide collection of luxury sports cars on his social media.

Last year, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Mohamed, his father and his family business for allegedly smuggling more than 22,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms) of gold to the U.S. from Guyana, and evading more than $50 million in taxes.

Treasury said they were able to do so, in part, because of “extensive bribery schemes involving government officials in Guyana.”

The court documents unsealed last week in Florida accused the Mohameds of operating a fraud scheme between 2017 and 2024 in which Mohamed’s Enterprise reused boxes with official state revenue seals to ship gold.

The indictment said the boxes were intended “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 indictment also accused the businessmen of bribing customs and other officials to accept fake paperwork to allow shipments to be sent to the U.S.

It’s unclear if Mohamed and his father will be extradited to the U.S., but officials as high as Guyana’s vice president have pointed to extradition as a possibility.

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