Don Mitchell
ANGUILLA–In a letter to Governor Tim Foy, Queen’s Counsel Don Mitchell has given his notice of immediate resignation. The two main reasons apparently are the lack of a reply to a letter sent to the Governor and the imminent departure of the Commission’s Director Helen Hatton.
Mitchell writes, “I note with sadness that I have not received any acknowledgment of my letter to you delivered at my meeting with you of 20 February past which I attended together with the other non-executive members of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Board. The purpose of the meeting was to draw to your attention a number of matters of concern regarding the lack of good governance in the Government of Anguilla generally and in the Ministry of Finance in particular, and our resulting fears for the future of the FSC.”
He said while he appreciated that the Governor did not find the matters appropriate for the Board, he disagreed as the Commission’s functions are set out in law and include the duty to advise the Governor on matters relating to or connected with the financial services business, companies and any other structure or arrangements. “No financial services industry can thrive in a jurisdiction lacking an effective, non-corrupt public service,” Mitchell said.
He also raised the issue of not receiving the Director’s contract that was sent some weeks ago. “The risk of an imminent departure of the Director is worrying, particularly in the light of Mrs. Hatton’s term of office concluding without you offering to renew it. You have defenestrated the FSC,” Mitchell said. “I therefore resign from the Board with immediate effect.”
He added that he had sent a copy of his letter to the Governor’s superior at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office “in the hope that someone will take your failures regarding the situation with the FSC seriously.”
Mitchell is a former Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and a renowned lawyer in Anguilla for many years.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/75381-mitchell-resigns-from-board-of-financial-services-commission
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