Over the last few years, the security firm has won several government contracts without being made to go through the legally required tender process. And in some cases, retroactive approval by the Cabinet was only given close to the end of the life of the contract.

This latest contract — valued more than a half-million dollars and approved on April 27 — is one of the first in a series of government contracts offered to the security firm over the past few years that did not entail either a retroactive approval or a waiver of the tender process by the Cabinet.

In a post-Cabinet meeting release issued yesterday, May 12, Cabinet said it accepted the Central Tender Board’s recommendation to award Top Priority Security Services Limited the contract on this occasion.

It was not made clear in the release whether there were other bidders in competition for the contract.

The release further noted that the contract was for the supply of security services for the transportation of government funds for a two-year period on Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada in the amount of $693,392.

Cabinet further decided that the Ministry of Finance instruct the Attorney General’s Chambers to vet the draft contract prior to its execution.