Two Guyanese nationals face serious charges in a federal case revolving around allegations of tax evasion and money laundering, connected to their gold export business. A Miami grand jury indicted Nazar Mohamed, 72, and Azruddin Mohamed, 38, for devising ways to defraud the Government of Guyana through fraudulent controls over the export of gold, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The documents presented in court alleged that between 2017 and at least 2024, the pair enriched themselves by hiding the true measure and worth of the gold exported by their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise. This indictment comes just after Azruddin Mohamed, the younger of the pair, unsuccessfully ran for president of Guyana but secured a place in its parliament. Speakers Jason A. Reding Quiñones, Matthew R. Galeotti, José R. Figueroa, and Ricky J. Patel from respective divisions of U.S. law enforcement involved in the case communicated these allegations, highlighting a complex scam involving the re-use of official government seals to get around paying due taxes and royalties for gold shipments.
Investigators claim the fraudulent activity led to an estimated $50 million loss for the Guyanese government, involving no less than 10,000 kilograms of gold passing through Miami en route to markets, as the duo reportedly engaged in elaborate schemes including shipping empty boxes with seals from Dubai and bribing officials to turn a blind eye. The indictment doesn’t forget to mention an ironic twist; it suggests that one of the accused, Azruddin Mohamed, separately dodged over a million dollars in taxes in Guyana involving the shipment of a Lamborghini from Miami to Guyana, showing the range of their purported fiscal defiance, according to the press release…