The two-day workshop titled ‘Transparency of Beneficial Owners and the Implementation Cycle of the BO Register: Exchange of Experiences and Future Challenges’ was held at the FSC House in Ebène, Mauritius, on 18-19 November 2021.
The event was organised by the EU Global Facility in collaboration with the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance and the Register of Companies (ROC). It focused on the role of beneficial owner registers as a tool to ensure transparency of beneficial owners, legal persons, trusts and similar legal arrangements.
Topics discussed included
- (i) Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Frameworks: The Role of Beneficial Ownership Registers
- (ii) Implementation of BO Registers by IFCs: Options and Challenges
- (iii) country case studies presentation
- (iv) Ensuring the Implementation of and an effective BO Register
- (v) Exchange of Experiences and Open Discussion on Selected Topics
Our Key Expert on BO, Alexandre Taymans, delivered the opening session, alongside the Director of ROC, Mrs Prabha Chinien, and the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Navindsing Jugmohunsing. The training sessions were delivered by experts Sébastien Guillaume and Andrej Leontiev.
“The efforts and commitment of Mauritius in its delisting from the FATF grey list is a major milestone for the country and is a great encouragement for future endeavours,” said Mr Taymans, noting that the aim of the two-day workshop was to discuss issues and challenges that Mauritius and Europe, as jurisdictions, have in terms of implementing BO Registers.
The workshop, he added, “marks the start of a new partnership and open dialogue between the EU and Mauritius”.
For her part, Mrs Chinien, extended gratitude to the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT for their technical assistance in the implementation of the AML/CFT framework in Mauritius and the setting up of the BO Register.
She recalled that, during the FATF October 2021 Plenary, Mauritius was recognised as having made significant progress in addressing strategic AMLCFT deficiencies and improving the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls.
As for the Acting Permanent Secretary, he stated that Mauritius as an international financial centre is “committed to putting in place bold measures to maintain its reputation as a transparent and credible jurisdiction”. The Government, he said, is determined to protect the integrity of the financial services sector so that it continues to prosper in a sustainable manner and contributes to the economic development of the country.
He also expressed satisfaction regarding the efforts of all regulatory bodies in contributing to the removal of Mauritius from the FATF and UK AML/CFT deficiencies’ lists.
The activity is part of a series of activities that the EU GF is organising in Mauritius from 17 to 25 November 2021.
This article was produced in collaboration with the Government Information Service (GIS) of Mauritius
The activity is part of a series of activities that the EU GF is organising in Mauritius from 17 to 25 November 2021.