Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

COI report urges full audit, criminal investigation for EZ gov’t contract

COI report urges full audit, criminal investigation for EZ gov’t contract

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report has recommended a full audit, and if deemed necessary, criminal investigations for government contracts with EZ shipping — the company hired in 2020 to use radar barges as part of the territory’s sea defences.

In the report submitted by Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom, it was recommended that the terms of that audit exercise should include consideration of the circumstances under which the company came to be retained by the government in the first place.

During the COI, Premier Fahie had repeatedly denied initiating an engagement with the proprietor of EZ Shipping, Clyde Chalwell, and said that it was an unsolicited proposal sent from the company to his office that started the engagement.

Sir Gary also recommended that the exercise should address the extent to which there was compliance with public procurement policies in place for major contracts, along with a justification for any departure from these regulations.

At the time, EZ Shipping was hired to host the government’s radar equipment and assist in detecting smuggling activity. They were described by Premier Fahie as having saved the government untold millions.

In the meantime, Sir Gary also said the audit exercise should examine why the services were provided before the approval of the territory’s Joint Task Force of law enforcement officers, the National Security Council, the Cabinet and the Governor.

According to Sir Gary, factors such as the policy objectives of the contracts, the efficacy of the contracts and the fulfilment of those objectives should also be looked at in the audit.

Additionally, a determination should also be made as to whether there was any value for the millions of dollars expended.

“Although this will be a matter for the National Security Council, in my view, consideration of national security should not affect the access accorded to the Auditor General in performing this audit,” Sir Gary said.

He conceded, however, that it may affect her ability to publish her report in unredacted form.

According to the Commissioner, unless the relevant authorities consider otherwise, further steps, including any criminal investigation and steps to recover public money, can await the outcome of that audit.

EZ shipping owner Chalwell eventually received three separate govenrment contracts starting from August 23, 2020 and extending up until January 2020. It was further revealed that the tender process was repeatedly waived for each of those three contracts.

Ultimately, those contracts ended up costing taxpayers some $2,040,000 for two or three of Chalwell’s barges equipped with radars to be leased from EZ shipping and stationed off the coast to track sea traffic and alert local law enforcement.

Background to the EZ Shipping contract

Around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BVI government decided to announce a 24-hour lockdown and closed its borders from March 27-April 20, 2020.

Until a more permanent solution could be investigated, temporary measures were considered and implemented to prevent unlawful entrants by sea.

When the BVI closed its borders in March 2020, then-Commissioner of Police (CoP) Michael Matthews said he realised that ensuring the security of the closed borders was beyond the capacity of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) alone.

It was then that Matthews approached both Her Majesty‘s Customs and the Immigration Department about a possible joint approach to the issue.

As a result, a Joint Task Force (JTF) of the three arms of law enforcement was created in April of that year.

Customs Commissioner Wade Smith chaired that body while Chief Immigration Officer Ian Penn and CoP Matthews represented their agencies on the task force as well.

At the time of its establishment, the JTF was specifically tasked with drawing up a Comprehensive Border Security Plan.

Initially, private sea vessels were used to secure the borders of the BVI but this option was later deemed untenable and removed as an alternative.

It was revealed during the COI that then-governor Augustus Jaspert was willing to seek UK military assistance in the form of a small team of advisers, but Premier Andrew Fahie later indicated that he was not willing to have UK military assistance in the BVI at that time.

It was the day after the Premier gave that indication, that Chalwell‘s unsolicited proposal first emerged.

In his evidence before the COI, the Premier explained that such unsolicited proposals were not uncommon in the BVI.

By the time the NSC and Cabinet finally came to consider the first contract for the hire of radar barges from EZ shipping, the barges had already been in operation for some time.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×