Magistrate dismisses Mohameds’ constitutional application

Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman on Wednesday dismissed an application by U.S. indicted businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, ruling that the constitutional issues raised were already settled by higher courts.

The case was called at 09:30 hrs for ruling, but before delivering her decision, the magistrate allowed the defence to respond to submissions previously made by the prosecution. She then set 11:00 hrs for the handing down of the ruling.

In a firm and detailed decision, Magistrate Latchman ruled that the application was “frivolous and vexatious” and amounted to “an abuse of the process,” emphasising that the issues raised had already been judicially determined by superior courts.

“It is the court’s rule that a diplomatic note is not set in stone but a treaty agreement is binding upon the party state and must be performed by them in good faith in accordance with Guyana’s convention law on treaties,” she said.

She added that the matters raised were not new and had already undergone adjudication. “I find the issues raised by the defence, having been adjudicated upon by its superior courts in Guyana,” the magistrate said.

Magistrate Latchman further rejected the defence’s reliance on older extradition case law, noting “this court will not rely on the Dataram authority since that matter was dealt with prior to the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Act 2009.”

Declaring that the court would not revisit settled issues, she said, “I find that this issue was put to rest… extradition is a state-to-state agreement and the individual plays no part in the contractual arrangement. So, the court is not about to resurrect what has been put to rest.”

After reviewing all submissions, the magistrate concluded, “Having judicially examined all the issues levelled by the defence… this court sees no basis to activate the referral article. This court therefore denies the application to engage the referral article on the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.”

She then confirmed that the extradition proceedings must now continue in the Magistrates’ court.

Prosecutor Terrence Williams indicated to the court that the prosecution has witnesses available and is ready to proceed with the substantive extradition hearing.

The magistrate noted that the court will be proceeding on leave and set January 6, 2026 as the date for the start of the extradition hearing. Until then, Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed must continue to report to the Police as previously ordered.

Speaking with reporters after the ruling, Prosecutor Williams said the prosecution welcomed the decision.

“We are happy to move along with the case. They have had their chance to raise their objections. They raised and the court ruled. So we hope that in January we will be able to conduct the proceeding,” he said.

He added that the next phase of the case would involve a formal examination of the evidence submitted with the U.S. extradition request.

Meanwhile, the defence signalled in court an intention to approach the High Court to pursue the constitutional issues.

“We believe that the court improperly exercised its discretion this morning when it found that the application should not be referred to the High Court. We are entitled to approach the High Court itself as part of the procedural process set out in the Constitution,” defence attorney, Roysdale Forde said.

He added that the defence only approached the Magistrates’ Court first to clear preliminary prosecutorial barriers.

“We ought not to have gone to the High Court initially, that is why we made the initial application. We intend to go to the High Court, which is our right, and we will be going there as part of this process,” he explained.

At the previous hearing, both sides had presented extensive arguments on whether constitutional concerns should pause the extradition inquiry. The defence questioned, among other things, whether they were required to wait for paper committal before raising constitutional challenges, and whether a diplomatic note provided by the United States could properly be relied upon.

Prosecutors urge Magistrate Court to see as ‘frivolous and vexatious’ Mohameds’ bid to stall extradition

The Mohameds remain on $150,000 bail each.

The U.S. government, on October 30, 2025, requested the extradition of the father and son under the extradition treaty between Guyana and the United Kingdom, which remains in force in Guyana under Section 4(1)(a) of the Fugitives Offenders Act, Cap. 10:04, as amended by Act No. 10 of 2024.

The Mohameds are facing multiple charges in the United States, unsealed on October 6, 2025, by a Southern District of Florida Grand Jury. The indictment includes wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs-related violations connected to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax evasion scheme.