A Guyanese businessman facing extradition to the U.S. on charges of gold smuggling, money laundering, and other financial crimes was elected on Monday as the country’s opposition leader, six months after he formed a political party that quickly became the second-largest in the Caribbean Community nation.
Sixteen lawmakers from the We Invest in Nationhood Party (WIN) and another from a single-seat outfit voted to pick Azruddin Mohamed, 38, as the country’s opposition leader, as the party had won 16 of the 65 seats in the general election held last September. That tally made WIN the second-largest in parliament and allowed his election, despite a magistrate’s court hearing arguments by the state to extradite him to the US.
A South Florida grand jury indicted Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, last year. Prosecutors accuse them of gold smuggling, money laundering, and other crimes. Just over a year earlier, the Treasury Department also sanctioned them for allegedly smuggling more than 10,000 kilograms of raw gold to the U.S. and avoiding US$50 million in taxes to Guyana.
Until their troubles in the past two years with U.S. and Guyanese authorities, the Mohamed family ranked among Guyana’s largest gold buyers and exporters. They also operated one of the most successful foreign exchange cambio outlets and owned extensive real estate holdings. After the Treasury Department announced sanctions, authorities shuttered all their businesses and closed their commercial bank accounts.
Monday’s brief but special sitting involved only opposition lawmakers. It came amid pressure from Western nations and local civil society groups. They accused authorities of delaying the parliamentary session to allow his election. Until Monday, parliament had met only once since its dissolution in July ahead of the September general elections.
Referencing the strong possibility that he and his father could be extradited to the U.S., Mohamed in brief remarks, argued that “a person is innocent until proven guilty.”
He also contended that efforts to exile him are connected to the fact that WIN is opposing the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with growing success. He noted, “That is why they are fighting me down. I announced my candidacy because of the people of this country. The people asked me. I would not have had any court issues if I did not contest this election. I am ready to serve the people of this country,” he told reporters outside parliament.
House Speaker Manzoor Nadir publicly expressed his discomfort with Mohamed’s election. He said, “I have found myself in this difficult position to hold the election of the leader of the opposition when I know that the presumptive leader of the opposition to be elected is an international fugitive.” Nevertheless, he chaired Monday’s brief proceedings and even congratulated Mohamed.
