CCJ grants interim stay in extradition proceedings against Mohameds

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Wednesday granted an interim stay of the ongoing extradition proceedings against Guyanese businessmen Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, effectively pausing the committal hearing before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court (GMC).

The ruling was handed down during a Case Management Conference (CMC) before CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson, along with Justices Maureen Rajnauth-Lee and Chantal Ononaiwu.

The regional court also set April 21, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. for the hearing of the substantive appeal.

Proceedings before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court are now formally suspended pending the outcome of the appeal before the apex court.

The stay comes days after the Mohameds moved to the CCJ seeking special leave to appeal a decision of the Guyana Court of Appeal, which had dismissed their challenge to the Authority to Proceed in the United States extradition case and declined to halt the process locally.

“An interim stay of the proceedings for the extradition of the Applicants/Intended Appellants before the court of committal presided over by the Third Respondent is granted until the determination of the special leave application and/or the substantive appeal and/or until further order of this Court,” one of the orders stated.

CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson said the stay was being granted “in the interest of justice.” He acknowledged the need for extradition cases to be addressed “expeditiously” and expressed hope that the court could make a decision on April 21 or “soon after.”

The CCJ is expected to hear the Mohameds’ application to appeal the ruling of the Guyana Court of Appeal, which centers on claims of political bias in the extradition proceedings.

Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed are challenging the Court of Appeal’s finding that Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond performed an administrative function when she issued an Authority to Proceed to a magistrate, allowing requests by the United States for their extradition to face trial for alleged financial crimes.

The interim stay halts all proceedings at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court until the CCJ determines the special leave application and the substantive appeal, or until further orders are issued.