How a Charity Became Central to J$Billions in UHWI's Duty-Free Imports
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Conflicting explanations are casting new light on how the charity that operates the Tony Thwaites Wing at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) came to be used to facilitate duty-free imports for about J$5 billion (US$33 million) worth of goods, including some it didn’t own.
The review by the Auditor General’s Department (AudGen) of nearly 3,000 UHWI import entries from 2019 to 2025 made public in January showed how the charity, University Hospital of the West Indies Private Wing, was listed as the importer in all cases, along with its Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN), enabling an estimated J$1.49 billion (US$9.9 million) in customs duties to be waived even for some items belonging to private companies.
While the chairman of the charity, Mark Thwaites, denies approving the use of the charity in this way, his own explanation, the AudGen’s findings, financial records and 18° North’s interview with the customs broker raise questions about whether the charity itself enabled the environment for breaches and should be sanctioned.
Far less attention has been paid to the role of the Private Wing until now.
