The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade is urging all domestic businesses and associations to register and declare their beneficial owners, in line with the requirements of the Beneficial Ownership Act 2020.

The Beneficial Ownership Act 2020 was assented to by the President in March last year and came into operation on August 28, 2020, with the primary role of providing for the identification and verification of beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements and also to establish and maintain up to date registers of beneficial owners and a centralised database.

On Thursday September 30, the Beneficial Ownership Act (Compliance of Legal Persons and Arrangements) Notice, 2021 was published in the Gazette.

It specifies the date for compliance for legal persons and legal arrangements under the purview of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as from October 31, 2021, having already been well versed with the concept.

International standards and requirements for identifying and registering beneficial owners, established by such bodies as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the legislation in Seychelles is based on such standards and best practices.

Domestic companies, partnerships, associations under the purview of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will have a later date for compliance, precisely January 31, 2022, recognising that the beneficial ownership concept will be new to many.

In accordance, by January 31, 2022, it will be mandatory for all domestic companies/partnerships/associations to maintain a register and identify their beneficial owners, with an up-to-date register of all the beneficiaries to be kept at all times.

Beneficial ownership is a term in domestic and international commercial law which refers to the natural person or persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, a trust, or a foundation.

Secretary of state in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade, Patrick Payet, said they are urging all legal persons and arrangements to actively take part and engage in the country-wide effort to understand and implement the requirements of the Act, such that Seychelles can illustrate to the international community its commitment to being a reputable jurisdiction, with a community that is fully conscious of the importance and significance of ensuring transparency and accountability.

SS Payet was speaking at a press conference yesterday at Liberty House where he gave more details on the Act and its requirements.

Also present were Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Caroline Abel, Registrar General Wendy Pierre, director of the FIU Richard Rampal and director of the Anti-Money Laundering – Combating the Financing of Terrorism at the FSA Randolph Samson.

As part of the requirements, SS Payet explained that a register of beneficial owners should be maintained at the principal place of business of the resident agent and it should contain the name, residential and service addresses, date of birth and nationality of each beneficial owner.

There should be also details of each beneficial owner’s beneficial interest as may be prescribed regulations.

The date on which a person became, or ceased to be a beneficial owner and also where a nominee holds interest on behalf of a beneficial owner should also be included.

Each legal person and arrangement will be required to populate the Seychelles Beneficial Ownership database through their resident agent.

The secure database is maintained by the FIU, and is accessible only by the authorities listed in the second schedule of the Act.

The resident agent of each legal person and arrangement will be required to log in and input the required information.

SS Payet also added that as part of its commitment, the government will provide necessary support and is embarking on an extensive sensitisation programme for the domestic sector, including meetings with the private sector and civil society representatives, media campaigns, as well as support via direct contact.

Source: Seychelles Nation