Regulatory Updates

The Financial Services Authority (“the Authority”) hereby issues this public notice pursuant to its mandate to protect the integrity of the Seychelles financial system and to ensure compliance with the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2024 (“VASP Act”).

This notice is issued further to Circular No. 4 of 2024 published on the 2^nd September 2024 by the Financial Services Authority in respect of the commencement of the VASP Act as from the 1^st September 2024, with emphasis placed on the duty for relevant parties to regularize their service offering and effect such changes as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the VASP Act.

Section 40(1) of the VASP Act prohibits any person, other than a licensee or registrant, from using any name that includes the words or expressions or any combination thereof, which may reasonably be construed as alluding to the provision of services that are licensable under the VASP Act.

Such prohibited words and expressions include, but are not limited to, the following:

This restriction is intended to prevent the public from being misled into believing that an entity is authorized or regulated to provide virtual asset services in or from Seychelles.

Following a comprehensive review of the register of International Business Companies (“IBCs”), the Authority has identified a number of IBCs that remain non-compliant with section 40 of the VASP Act. Such breach constitutes an offence and may give rise to the imposition of a fine, imprisonment, or both, in accordance with the provisions of the VASP Act.

These entities were previously notified through their respective International Corporate Service Providers and have been provided with a reasonable period to take the necessary measures in order to remove any reference of the above words (or any combination thereof) from their names, be it their registered business or trade names if there is no intention to be licensed or registered under the VASP Act.

Given that the deadline to effect the change has now lapsed, the IBC’s listed in Annex A, have been identified as being in breach of Section 40 of the VASP Act, and consequently have committed an offence and may be subject to such further enforcement measures as may be deemed necessary.

As a result of this continued non‑compliance, the Authority has initiated the process to strike off the identified entities from the Register of International Business Companies, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the International Business Companies Act.

The Authority strongly advises members of the public to exercise caution and to verify the regulatory status of any virtual asset service provider by consulting the list of licensed and registered entities published on the Authority’s official website.

For any further enquiries, please contact the FSA on vass@fsaseychelles.sc.

Annex A – List of Entities in Contravention of Section 40 of the VASP Act