We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), the political party led by U.S.-indicted and OFAC-sanctioned Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, has retained a U.S. lobbying firm and made an advance payment of US$250,000 for services aimed at engaging the United States Government.
Records filed with the U.S. Department of Justice list Linden Global Strategies LLC as the registrant and identify Stephen Payne and Logan Somera as representatives of WIN. The filing states that the firm will advise the party in “developing and cultivating its relationships within the United States government and private sector.”
According to the registration document, the US$250,000 advance payment for contracted services was made on February 13, 2026. Serious questions are now being raised about the Mohameds and what critics describe as a series of delay tactics aimed at stalling their extradition to the United States.
President of Linden Global Strategies, Stephen Payne said his firm is in contact with another member of the WIN party who facilitated the payment and signed the contract.
It should be noted that Azruddin previously revealed that he is the financier of WIN, raising concerns as to who exactly is paying the U.S. firm and whether he is circumventing the OFAC-sanctions.
U.S. Treasury regulations under OFAC generally prohibit transactions that directly or indirectly benefit sanctioned individuals, including transactions that may involve third parties acting on their behalf. In addition, lobbying firms operating in the United States are subject to disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which mandate transparency regarding clients, services provided, and payments received.
Azruddin and his father, Nazar Mohamed, were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 11, 2024, over allegations related to tax evasion on gold exports.
At the time, the U.S. Treasury stated that “Azruddin and Mohamed’s Enterprise evaded Guyana’s tax on gold exports and defrauded Guyanese of tax revenues by under-declaring their gold exports to Guyanese authorities. Between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10,000 kilograms of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the government of Guyana.”
Both men have also been indicted in the United States and are currently challenging extradition proceedings. Following the imposition of the sanctions, Azruddin formed WIN and contested Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections, after which he became Leader of the Opposition.
The formal extradition request from the United States was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, underscoring Washington’s direct involvement in seeking the Mohameds’ transfer to face charges in the United States. The signing of the request by the top U.S. diplomat signals the seriousness with which U.S. authorities are pursuing the case.
The post WIN hires US lobbyist Stephen Payne appeared first on News Room Guyana.
