Government welcomes EU decision to remove Seychelles on list of non-cooperative jurisdictions
October 06, 2021
The Government has welcomed the decision of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union to remove Seychelles on its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.
The decision was taken on Tuesday 05th October 2021.
Speaking to the media this morning, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade, SS Patrick Payet, said Seychelles is engaged to honour all its international obligations.
"The Government remains committed to continue engaging with the EU, OECD and other international institutions to ensure our operations are in line with the international standards."
The positive outcome from the EU comes after a lot of hard work from local and international partners.
SS Payet has expressed his appreciation to all the partners for their cooperation and teamwork.
Since 2020, a number of legislations have been either amended or enacted to ensure compliance to the international requirements, and they are:
- Beneficial Ownership Act, 2020
- Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Act, 2021
- International Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021
- Foundations (Amendment) Act, 2021
- Trusts Act, 2021
Effectively, Seychelles has been removed from Annex I and moved up to Annex II, pending the positive outcome of a Global Forum supplementary review.
SS Payet said the government is targeting to have the review in 2022, but that will depend on the EU. The review will test the effectiveness of the legislations.
For more about Seychelles' reactions and actions taken to get to this stage, click on the link below.