GEORGETOWN (Reuters) -Azruddin Mohamed, the leader of Guyana’s top opposition party, and his father, the gold magnate Nazar Mohamed, both wanted by the United States on charges of fraud and corruption were arrested on Friday, their family said.
The country’s attorney general had previously said both men would be extradited to face the charges once U.S. authorities made the request.
“Leader of opposition Azruddin Mohamed and his father was just arrested. We have witnesses who claim police brutality not only to Azruddin but also his guard and nearby innocent civilians!” Hadiyyah Mohamed, Nazar’s daughter and Azruddin’s sister, said in a post on Facebook.
Azruddin has accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party of persecuting him due to his foray into politics.
If an extradition request is granted, the businessmen would have the right to challenge it in Guyanese courts. For Guyana and some of its neighbors, the court of last resort is the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The businessmen, who own the gold-exporting firm Mohamed’s Enterprise, were indicted in a Florida court on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering to enrich themselves and defraud the government of Guyana.
(Reporting by Kemol KingWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)
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