Mohameds’ Lawyers Demand CCJ President Recuse Himself

By NAN Staff Writer, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Weds. Aug. 19, 2026: Attorneys for Guyana’s Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and his father, gold dealer Nazar Mohamed, are demanding that Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President Justice Winston Anderson step aside from all proceedings involving their clients, threatening legal action if a full set of internal court records isn’t disclosed within seven days.

In a letter dated August 14 and obtained by the Trinidad Express, attorneys Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva told the CCJ Registrar their clients were “deeply disturbed and distressed by the allegations” and had formed “the strong and reasonable view that they may not have received the fair hearing which is constitutionally guaranteed to them.”

What they’re demanding

The lawyers want “full and frank disclosure” of all emails, correspondence and documents touching on the leaked internal disputes among CCJ judges, as well as records of Anderson’s 2025 meetings with then-Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and President Irfaan Ali over the more than two-decade delay in confirming Guyana’s Chancellor and Chief Justice. That request extends specifically to any material bearing on the July 29 ruling in the Mohameds’ own extradition appeal, whether Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond’s authorization to proceed against them was politically motivated.

“Given the exceptional urgency of these matters, we request that the information and materials sought be provided within seven (7) days,” the lawyers wrote, warning that failing that, “our clients reserve the right to institute such proceedings and seek such relief as may be appropriate.” They’ve also asked the court to preserve all related records, including communications, itineraries and diary entries involving Anderson, Norton, President Ali, and Guyanese government officials.

The underlying case

The Mohameds were indicted in Florida in 2025 on wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges, tied to an alleged gold-export and tax-evasion scheme U.S. authorities say involved more than 10,000 kilograms of gold and over $50 million in evaded taxes. They’ve denied the allegations. The CCJ rejected their latest challenge to the extradition process on July 29, clearing the way for hearings to resume next month before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman.

Anderson’s response, and what he’s already conceded

Jamaican born Justice Winston Anderson, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice

Anderson broke his own silence on the controversy August 14, in the same lengthy statement examined in our previous coverage. Anderson addressed the Mohamed extradition case directly, the allegation that has driven the most alarm in Guyana. “Those allegations are entirely unfounded and untrue,” he wrote, explaining that judicial conferences “frequently involve spirited discussion, differing legal analyses and careful consideration of competing views before a final judgment is settled,” and that such exchanges are “not evidence of disagreement within the institution” but of judges doing their jobs. He noted the ruling against Mohamed reflected “COMPLETE UNANIMITY among all seven judges,” and pointed out that in the Court’s Original Jurisdiction, dissenting opinions are never published, standard practice among international courts, not evidence of suppressed dissent.

On the related allegation of “panel fixing,” tied to the removal of Justice Chile Eboe-Osuji from a separate case, D’Almada v Trinidad and Tobago, Anderson said the change was made “solely” over a dress code dispute and “had nothing whatsoever to do with any judicial views of the legal merits of the proceedings.” Going forward, he announced a structural fix: every judge will now be required to sit on every panel unless formally excused for legitimate reason.

The Mohameds’ lawyers argue that concession isn’t enough. Citing Norton’s own public allegations directly, they wrote that the claims “trespass into partisan political activity” too seriously for the court to leave “unanswered while adjudicating upon politically sensitive Guyanese litigation.”

Mohamed’s WIN party won 16 of 29 opposition seats in Guyana’s September 1, 2025 general election. He has said additional appeals to the CCJ are still to come.

NewsAmericasNow will continue following the Mohamed extradition case and the CCJ crisis.