Michael Riegels (pronounced ) was the inaugural chairman of the Financial Services Commission of the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

. He is a qualified barrister and was formerly the senior partner of

Harneys Harney Westwood & Riegels (or Harneys) is a global offshore law firm that provides advice on British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Bermuda and Anguilla law to an international client base that includes law firms, financia ...

from 1984 to 1997, and he also served the president of the BVI Bar Association from 1996 to 1998 and as president of the British Virgin Islands branch of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

Career

Riegels was also part of the "gang of five" who drafted the original

International Business Companies Act The International Business Companies Act, 1984 was a statute of the British Virgin Islands which permitted the incorporation of International Business Companies (IBCs) within the Territory. The Act played in a huge role in the economic and fin ...

in 1984, the principal statute of the BVI's

offshore finance An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy." "Offshore" does not refer ...

industry for many years (and subsequently copied by a large number of competing offshore jurisdictions). In 1999, he was appointed by the Government as chairman of a public inquiry in relation to the escape of certain Colombian prisoners who were on remand awaiting trial for charges relating to drug trafficking.

Background

He was born in Tanga,

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

(later part of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

) in 1938 and educated at Prince of Wales School in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

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and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

where he won a full blue for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. He was admitted to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

in 1961 as a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, and to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands in 1973. He was one of the founding members of the BVI Bar Association in 1977.

Footnotes

External links

Video: The Story of the IBC Act (featuring Michael Riegels)

BVI Financial Services Commission

BVI Red Cross

BVI Bar Association

Harneys
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 20th-century British Virgin Islands lawyers 1938 births Living people Alumni of Nairobi School British Virgin Islands Queen's Counsel People from Tanga, Tanzania People from Tanga Region {{BritishVirginIslands-bio-stub