Andrew Fahie

Andrew Alturo Fahie (, born 7 August 1970 ) is a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2022. He was convicted of a range of charges relating to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States in 2024. He was appointed chairman of the Virgin Islands Party on 30 November 2016 after winning a leadership contest with incumbent leader, Julian Fraser. On 6 February 2017 he was officially appointed Leader of the Opposition. On 25 February 2019 Fahie led his party to victory in the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election, and was sworn in as Premier the following day. He remained as the First District Representative until November 2022. He was convicted of all charges on 8 February 2024.

He is often referred to by his nickname, the Brown Bomber.

Early life and education Andrew Fahie was born in 1970 to Ernest Alturo Fahie and Iris Dorene Romney. His father was a shopkeeper.

After graduating from the BVI High School in 1986, Fahie attended the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and then earned a BSc in Education from Florida A&M University, graduating in 1991. Fahie disagreed as he believed the majority of party members would prefer him to take over as leader following the party's disastrous electoral defeat.

As the Constitution required that the Leader of the Opposition commanded a support of the "majority" of the opposition members, and the only two opposition members disagreed, there was an impasse. Governor John Duncan gave the men a month to resolve their differences, but they were unable to do so, and eventually the Governor appointed Fraser as the official Leader of the Opposition.

Fahie, when he was Leader of the Opposition, frequently commented that a Commission of Inquiry was needed into BVI Government corruption. It concluded that the constitution should be suspended and its government dissolved – returning direct rule from London.

Premier Fahie led his party to victory in the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election, and was sworn in as Premier the following day.

He was removed as Premier on 5 May 2022 after the House of Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against his government, following his arrest by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Resignation

He formally resigned his seat at representative of the First District on 24 November 2022. In his resignation letter to the Speaker of the House he indicated that he was retiring from representational politics.

Shooting incident

In 2007 Fahie suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg during an attempted bank robbery. The wound was not serious. Fahie tried to sue the bank for the injuries he received. He lost at trial, and the case was settled before the appeal was heard.

Money laundering and cocaine allegations 2003 In 2003, Offshore Alert reported that Fahie was under investigation about allegations of money laundering. Fahie did not deny that an investigation took place, but contended that no action was taken against him as a result of the investigation. In 2018 he called the allegations "outdated, unproven, and unsubstantiated". According to a 2025 article in The Guardian, Fahie boasted about handling illicit cash in the past to a DEA informant.

2022–2024 On 28 April 2022, Fahie was arrested by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Miami on charges related to money laundering, conspiracy to import 5 kg (11 lb) of cocaine, and planning to assist the Mexico–based Sinaloa Cartel in moving thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States for a percentage of the proceeds. The matter went to trial in late January 2024 on four charges: (1) conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine, (2) conspiracy to engage in money laundering, (3) attempted money laundering, and (4) foreign travel in aid of racketeering. His co-accused, Oleanvine Maynard, gave evidence against him. On 8 February 2024 after a seven day trial the Miami jury convicted him on all counts.

Electoral history