GUYANA | "I am not a scamp,' Nazar Mohamed and son Azruddin reject Reuters Report.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, July 15, 2023 - Georgetown businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, operators of several registered businesses in Georgetown, have taken issue with a Reuters news agency special report  which has placed them in an unfavourable light within the community.

In an expansive and explosive feature, Reuters says that the United States is probing the Mohameds company, which serves as a contractor for ExxonMobil, for gold smuggling and drug trafficking.

According to Reuters, the ExxonMobil oil giant ignored advice and cut a deal to build a $300 million onshore logistics base with a consortium that included the two Guyanese businessmen, Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin.

The Mohameds, owners of Mohamed’s Enterprise, had mostly focused on gold mining and foreign currency exchange before expanding into the burgeoning Guyanese oil business in recent years and securing the lucrative deal with Exxon as part of the local content requirement with the Guyanese government where Guyanese are hired to do infrastructure work .

In a statement the Mohameds company described the report as defamatory of the character and reputation of the company’s owner, Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed.

The Mohameds say they reject the sources referred to in the report and what they consider to be “the reckless use of sources as the basis of the entire report.” They categorically deny that they are the subject of any investigations by any US authorities.

In response to a request by Reuters to respond to these baseless allegations, the Mohameds not only specifically denied these allegations but challenged Reuters to produce any evidence to support the allegations made in the report”, The article revealed that Reuters failed to do so, the statement said.

A cursory reading of the report reveals that it is a repetition and regurgitation of the now widely accepted discredited Bram Ebus report published on September 14, 2020.

The report is premised and riddled with unverified and unsubstantiated assertions that the Mohameds are the subjects of investigations by “…the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security, and other US agencies on the suspicion of smuggling Colombian cocaine and illegally mined Venezuelan gold to the United States, Europe, and the Middle East…” and for “…laundering money for drug traffickers and criminals, including sanctioned Russian nationals operating in the region…”

The Mohameds categorically deny that they are the subject of any investigations by any US authorities. In response to a request by Reuters to respond to these baseless allegations, the Mohameds not only specifically denied these allegations but challenged Reuters to produce any evidence to support the allegations made in the report.

The Mohameds are surprised and astonished that such a seemingly reputable international news agency would publish such allegations that are devoid of any substance. It is disappointing that Reuters would permit itself to be the tool of misinformation and an agent of the detractors of the Mohameds’.

The Mohameds consider this report a most vile diabolical sloppy hatchet job, published with the primary intention to create the appearance that the Mohameds are in a position of conflict with the US law enforcement agencies.

The tone, tenor, and content of the report clearly aim to lower the Mohameds’ estimation in the eyes of Guyanese, the international community, and to destroy their business relations, integrity, and credentials.

In conclusion, we remain fully committed to upholding the law and conducting our business operations with the highest standards of legitimacy and integrity.

A stabroek News report quoted Nazar Mohamed as Declaring that he is not involved in any `scampish’ business. According to Stabroek News, he engaged the Washington DC public relations and lobbying firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers [BGR], to investigate why he has been blocked for more than a decade from securing a US non-immigrant visa.

"Mohamed, who is preparing to make another non-immigrant visa petition to the United States embassy here says that his character is beyond reproach, Stabroek's report said.

"The 70-year-old Mohamed told Stabroek News that hiring the public relations and lobbying firm was not about  obtaining his visa only, but to also show the public that he has nothing to hide, having come from humble beginnings and legitimately building his business through currency trading, real estate, gold mining and trading. He said that after decades of hard work, he could not no longer sit aside and have his competitors bring his character into disrepute in his old age, having noticed that rumours surrounding his businesses had begun escalating. For over 50 years, Mohamed said that he worked tirelessly.

“I worked very hard. I started suitcase trading…building from that I went into business and bought one place then another…then into currency trading, gold mining and buying…,” he said while emphasizing that while people now see the wealth he created, many are not aware of the hard labour he put in to build his companies to what they are today."

The Stabroek News report says Mohamed had been traveling to the United States before the terror attacks of 9/11 and even traveled after. When his visa expired and he applied again and was told of the administrative processing, he  surmised that after the attacks, visa restrictions got tougher for Muslims so he had to allow for the due diligence process and did not press the issue.

Twice within the last 10 years he got the same response from the US Embassy that his visa was under administrative processing left him perplexed. And coupled with rumours here that he could not travel because he was blacklisted and wanting to travel now that he has more leisure time, he said that he began researching how the visa issue could be addressed. He said that he researched companies to help and hired an immigration lawyer who is currently looking at his case.

In the meantime, outgoing City Mayor Pt Ubraj Narine is defending the Mohammeds- Nazar and his son Azruddin. Mayor Narine has expressed his strong support for Mr. Azruddin Mohamed,  as a respected businessman and contractor associated with Exxon in Guyana. He said following an extensive investigation conducted by the United States authorities, no evidence has been found to substantiate the allegations against Mr. Mohamed.

Mayor Narine considers the claims to be baseless and believes they were made with the intention of tarnishing Mr. Mohamed’s reputation.”