Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin imagined themselves becoming the new kings of oil. The consortium of which they were part won, in April 2022, a lucrative contract of 300 million dollars (277 million euros) with the American oil company Exxon, for the construction of an offshore logistics base near the capital of Guyana , Georgetown. Until an investigation published by Reuters in the summer of 2023 abruptly ended their adventure. According to the press agency, which cites several reports and testimonies from American intelligence services, the father and son are targeted in the United States by investigations for money laundering, drug trafficking and gold smuggling. While denying the accusations, the father and son, who refused to answer questions from World, have resigned themselves to leaving the consortium.
The Mohameds are among Guyana’s most famous – and most flamboyant – businessmen. If we are to believe the official version, the father, born in a poor fishing village, would have made his fortune thanks to his hard work, becoming in turn a worker in a sawmill, a seller of zippers, and suddenly, an operator of exchange then gold producer.
His son’s life is richly documented on his Instagram account. He appears at the wheel of a Jet-Ski, a motorboat or even a Ferrari, suede shoes placed on the accelerator pedal and a glass of champagne in hand. We also discover him in his palace, sitting on a staircase with delicately carved white marble steps, or distributing toys, printers, computers, and even houses to the less fortunate, who hug him in their arms as a thank you.
With the arrival of oil, many Guyanese businessmen are tempted to move from trafficking to legal supply chains, from black money to certified balance sheets, from firearms to marketing. In other words, from shadow to light. Especially since there is no shortage of opportunities, thanks to the law passed in 2021 requiring each foreign investor in the gas and oil sector to form an alliance with a local partner. Participation thresholds vary depending on the sectors concerned, as does the minimum percentage of Guyanese to be hired among managers and employees. THE “local content” is a rule so sacred that an administration is responsible for enforcing it, with a specialized unit to flush out phantom local partners – a fraud known as “Rent a citizen”, or “citizen rental”.
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