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Mauritius

CMS Expert Guide to Crypto Regulation in Mauritius

Table of contents
  1.  How is crypto regulated?
  2. What are the steps taken by the regulator to adopt MiCAR? 
  3.  Are the following activities regulated or unregulated in your jurisdiction? ― Direct sales of tokens by issuers— Exchange (buy/sell) ― Custody (hold) ― Borrowing/lending ― Yield/staking services —Staking on proof of stake consensus mechanisms(please indicate if NFTs are treated differently from fungible cryptoassets for each activity)
  4. Can offshore business provide services to local customers on either active solicitation or reverse solicitation basis? 
  5. How long would establishing a cryptoasset business/obtaining a license in your jurisdiction take?
  6. What would be the approximate overall cost of obtaining a licence?
  7. What is the probability (%) of success in obtaining a licence?
  8. What other limitations are there in your jurisdiction when looking to set up a cryptoasset business? E.g., Compliance requirements and physical presence
Mauritius

Disclaimer: This chapter was last updated on 4 November 2024 and does not reflect any subsequent developments. The information provided is intended for general informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice.

1. How is crypto regulated?

AML RegulationAny other regulation

 

The main anti-money laundering legislation in Mauritius is the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002 (FIAMLA).

 

While there is no AML legislation covering crypto per se, financial institutions, including virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and issuers of initial token offering, registered with the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC) are required to adhere to the provisions of the FIAMLA and any regulations and guides issued by the FSC and the Financial Intelligence Unit.

 

The FSC licensees (more specifically under the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021 (the VAITOS Act)) are equally subject to the FSC’s AML/CFT Handbook. 

 

To cater for this novel field, in February 2022, the FSC issued the AML/CFT Guidance Notes for Virtual Asset Service Providers & Issuers of Initial Token Offerings which set out the measures which entities regulated under the VAITOS Act should apply for the prevention of money laundering.

 

Virtual assets, which would encompass crypto assets are regulated under the VAITOS Act which regulates all products that would categorise as virtual assets. 

 

A virtual asset means a digital representation of value that may be digitally traded or transferred, and may be used for payment or investment purposes but does not include a digital representation of fiat currencies, securities and other financial assets that fall under the purview of the Securities Act 2005. 

 

The FSC being the regulator for the non-bank financial services sector and global business, is mandated to license, regulate, monitor and supervise the conduct of business activities dealing with virtual and digital assets. The FSC has issued a series on guidance notes on the digital assets and non-fungible tokens.

 

Under Mauritius law, security tokens are deemed different from virtual assets and as such are not regulated by the VAITOS Act but the Securities Act 2005. A security token refers to securities (as defined under the Securities Act 2005), represented in digital format.

 

2. What are the steps taken by the regulator to adopt MiCAR? 

The MiCAR is not applicable in Mauritius.

3. Are the following activities regulated or unregulated in your jurisdiction? ― Direct sales of tokens by issuers— Exchange (buy/sell) ― Custody (hold) ― Borrowing/lending ― Yield/staking services —Staking on proof of stake consensus mechanisms(please indicate if NFTs are treated differently from fungible cryptoassets for each activity)

Any other regulation 

 

The activities falling under the purview of the VAITOS Act are categorised in either one of the 5 classes of VASP or as issuers of initial token offerings. Please refer to the table of classes as listed below.

 

The regulatory treatment of NFTs would depend on the underlying assets attached to the NFT. For instance, where the NFTs have overlapping characteristics of a digital collectible and a transferable financial asset, they shall be considered as “securities” and thus be regulated under the Securities Act 2005 and the relevant rules. 

 

NFTs which fall under the category of virtual assets (not being digital collectibles nor securities) shall fall within the scope of the VAITOS Act and any activity related thereto will have to be licensed under the said act. 

 

Any other activity which is not captured under the various licences available under the VAITOS Act may be licensed at the discretion of the FSC under the regulatory sandbox license.

4. Can offshore business provide services to local customers on either active solicitation or reverse solicitation basis? 

Any other regulation 

Any business would require to be licensed by the FSC before providing services related to solicitation of virtual asset to local customers.

 

Where solicitation is made in respect with security tokens (not captured under the VAITOS Act), the business would have to be licensed under the Securities Act 2005 and will have to take into consideration the Securities (Public Offers) Rules 2007, the Securities (Solicitation) Rules 2020 and other applicable rules made by the FSC under the aforementioned act.

5. How long would establishing a cryptoasset business/obtaining a license in your jurisdiction take?

Any other regulation 
The process of obtaining a VASP license may take a minimum of 6 months. Given that the VAITOS Act is a relatively new legislation, the FSC will generally request additional information from the applicant during the process which may be protracted as a result.   

6. What would be the approximate overall cost of obtaining a licence?

Any other regulation 

Please refer to the table below for the applicable processing fees for each licence available under the VAITOS Act.

 

In addition, each VASP would be required to maintain minimum capital and financial requirements as per the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offerings Services (Capital and Other Financial Requirements) Rules 2022 (see table below).

 

Other tentative heads of costs would include costs of expert staff, AML/CFT costs, disaster recovery arrangements, other legal costs, professional insurance which will vary based on an applicant’s proposed business and licences applied for.

7. What is the probability (%) of success in obtaining a licence?

Any other regulation 
Application for licences are dealt with in confidence by the FSC and thus statistics are not available in this regard, as of yet.

8. What other limitations are there in your jurisdiction when looking to set up a cryptoasset business? E.g., Compliance requirements and physical presence

AML RegulationAny other regulation 

 

VASPs are required to submit, together with the application for license, the policies and measures to be implemented to combat money laundering, meeting the standards of the FSC’s AML/CFT Handbook.

 

A senior executive, as required under the VAITOS Act, shall be appointed with the approval of the FSC where he is a natural person residing in Mauritius and of at least senior management level (as prescribed under the FIAMLA).

 

 

Under the VAITOS Act, it is mandatory for a VASP to have a physical office in Mauritius and ensure that its business activities are directed and managed from Mauritius, as a matter of substance. 

 

Any VASP must equally abide by the set of rules issued by the FSC under the VAITOS Act which cover capital and other financial requirements, client disclosure, custody of client assets, cybersecurity, publication of advertisements, risk management, and statutory returns rules.  1 The rules issued by the FSC under the VAITOS Act are as follows: (i) VAITOS (Capital and Other Financial Requirements) Rules 2022; (ii) VAITOS (Client Disclosure) Rules 2022; (iii) VAITOS (Custody of Client Assets) Rules 2022; (iv) VAITOS (Cybersecurity) Rules 2022; (v) VAITOS (Publication of Advertisements) Rules 2022; (vi) VAITOS (Risk Management) Rules 2022; and (vii) VAITOS (Statutory Returns) Rules 2022.

 

There may further be specific operational restrictions imposed by the FSC imposed on a discretionary basis on each class of license under the VAITOS Act.
 

 

ClassLicense typeBusiness activitiesMinimum unimpaired capitalApplication Fee
Class ‘M’Virtual Asset Broker Dealer

Any virtual asset services provider that conducts one or both of the following:

  • Exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies,
  • Exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets
2,000,000 Mauritian Rupees or its equivalent in any other fiat currencyUSD 1,000
Class ‘O’Virtual Asset Wallet ServicesTransfer of virtual assetssufficient working capital in fiat currency to continue business for a period of 12 months, based on realistic forecasts for the business in different market conditions (both negative and positive scenarios)USD 1,000
Class ‘R’Virtual Asset Custodian
  • Safekeeping of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets,
  • Administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets.
5,000,000 Mauritian Rupees or its equivalent in any other fiat currencyUSD 1,500
Class ‘I’Virtual Asset Advisory ServicesParticipation in the provision of financial services related to an issuer’s offer and/or sale of virtual assetssufficient working capital to be capable of meeting its debts as they fall dueUSD 3,000
Class ‘S’Virtual Asset Market PlaceVirtual asset exchange6,500,000 Mauritian Rupees or its equivalent in any other fiat currencyUSD 3,000
Issuers of Initial Token Offerings-Issuers of Initial Token Offeringssufficient working capital to be capable of meeting its debts as they fall due.USD 2,000

DISCLAIMER: The overall cost of a license will vary depending on the class of license and nature and details of the business.

 

Authors

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Portrait of
Ashwin Mudhoo
Managing Associate | Head – Transactions
Portrait of
Yushrah Bayjou
Associate | Barrister-at-Law