Act 38 2022 - Act 38 - 2022 - Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 2022

[30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 683 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2022 (Act 38 of 2022) ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS SECTION 1. Short title 2. Amendment of section 2 3. Amendment of section 3 4. Amendment of section 4 5. Amendment of section 5 6. Amendment of section 7 7. Amendment of section 8 8. Amendment of section 9 9. Amendment of section 10 10. Amendment of section 11 11. Amendment of section 12 12. Amendment of section 13 13. Amendment of section 14 14. Insertion of new section 15. Amendment of section 15 16. Insertion of new section 17. Amendment of section 18 18. Amendment of First Schedule [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 684 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2022 (Act 38 of 2022) I assent Wavel Ramkalawan President 29th December, 2022 AN ACT TO AMEND THE BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP ACT, 2020. ENACTED by the President and the National Assembly. Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Act, 2022. [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 685 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Amendment of section 2 2. Section 2 of the Beneficial Ownership Act, 2020, (hereinafter referred to as the “principal Act”) is amended in — (a) subsection (1) by repealing subsection (1)(b)(i) and substituting it with the following — “(i) a trustee of a trust under the Trusts Act, 2021 (Act 34 of 2021);” (b) subsection (2) — (i) in the chapeau, by repealing the words “This Act” and substituting them with the words “Subject to section 13(5a), this Act”; (ii) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting it with the following paragraph — “(a) a listed company that is subject to adequate disclosure requirements in terms of transparency of beneficial ownership; (iii) in paragraph (b) by repealing the full-stop and substituting it with a semicolon; (iv) by inserting after paragraph (b), the following paragraph — “(c) any legal person that has been struck-off from the register, under its respective statutory legislation, on the date of commencement of this Act: Provided that when the legal person is restored to the register under its respective statutory legislation, the provisions of this Act shall be applicable to such legal person including for the period during which it was struck-off.” ; [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 686 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Amendment of section 3 3. Section 3 of the principal Act is amended — (a) by inserting after the definition “beneficial owner”, the following definition — “beneficial ownership information” means the information specified under section 5 (1), which is collected on beneficial owners and the relevant information of registrable legal persons;” (b) by inserting after the definition “customer” the following definition — “database” means the Seychelles Beneficial Ownership database referred to in section 13; (c) in the definition “listed company”, in paragraph (b), by repealing the words “which is a subsidiary” and substituting them with the words “which is a wholly-owned subsidiary”; (d) by repealing the definition of “registrable particulars” and inserting the following definitions “registrable legal person” means a legal person whose name may be entered in the register of beneficial owners as a registrable legal person provided that — (a) the legal person — (i) is subject to its own disclosure requirements under this Act and is in compliance with sections 5(6), 10(3a) and 13 ; and (ii) is a licensee under the International Corporate Service Providers Act; or [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 687 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (b) the legal person is a listed company; “registrable particulars” means the information entered in the register of beneficial owners;”; (e) in the definition “resident agent” — (a) in paragraph (c), by repealing the words “section 39” and substituting them with the words “section 164”; (b) by repealing paragraph (e) and substituting it with the following — “(e) an approved trustee of a trust under the Trusts Act, 2021;”; (c) by repealing paragraph (f) and substituting it with the following — “(f) a registered agent under section 6A of the Limited Partnerships Act; or” Amendment of section 4 4. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (2) in paragraph (b) by repealing the full-stop and substituting it with a semi colon; (b) in subsection (2) by inserting after paragraph (b) the following — “(c) examine and make copies or extracts of the documents belonging to or in the possession of the resident agent, that in the opinion of the Competent Authority relate to documents or information required to be kept by a legal person, legal arrangement or resident agent under this Act; [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 688 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (d) seek information and explanations from the officers, employees, agents and representatives of the resident agent, if any, whether verbally or in writing in relation to information required to be kept by a legal person, legal arrangement or resident agent under this Act.” (c) by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection — “(2a) The Competent Authority may, where it appears to it that the circumstances are justifiable, exercise its powers under subsection (2) without giving notice to the legal person or legal arrangement.” (d) in subsection (3), by repealing the words “offfence and is liable upon conviction to fine of not less than SCR50,000” and substituting them with the words “offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding SCR150,000”; Amendment of section 5 5. Section 5 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (1) — (i) by inserting in the chapeau after the words “at the principal place of business of its resident agent”, the words “in Seychelles”; (ii) by repealing, in paragraph (a), the words “and nationality” and substituting them with the following words “,nationality, national identification number or equivalent (if any) and tax identification number or equivalent (if any) ”; (iii) by inserting after paragraph (d), the following — “(d1) where a nominee has been appointed or ceased to be a nominee — [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 689 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (i) the date on which the nominee has been appointed; (ii) the date on which the nominee ceased to be a nominee”; (iv) in paragraph (e) — A. in the chapeau by inserting after the words “holds interest on behalf of the beneficial owner” the words “, the following particulars shall be included in an annexure to the register of beneficial owners”; B. by repealing subparagraph (i) and substituting it with the following — “(i) in the case of — A. a natural person — the name, residential address, service address, date of birth, nationality, national identification number or equivalent (if any) and tax identification number or equivalent (if any) of each nominee holding the interest on behalf of the beneficial owner and the particulars and details of the interest held by the nominee; B. a legal person — the name, registered address, incorporation or registration number, date of incorporation or registration, jurisdiction of incorporation or registration, tax identification number [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 690 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT or equivalent (if any) and the information and details of the interest held by the nominee; and”; C. in paragraph (ii) by repealing the words “natural person who ultimately owns or controls” and substituting with the following words “beneficial owner”; (v) by inserting after paragraph (e) the following — “(f) in the case of any registrable legal person — (i) the name of the registrable legal person; (ii) the incorporation number or its equivalent of the registrable legal person; (iii) the date of incorporation of the registrable legal person; (iv) the registered address of the registrable legal person; (v) the basis upon which the legal person is designated as a registrable legal person; (vi) the date on which a person became a registrable legal person; and (vii) the date on which a person ceased to be a registrable legal person. (b) by inserting after subsection (1), the following subsection — “(1a) A legal person or legal arrangement shall not include the name of a registrable legal person in the register [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 691 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT of beneficial owners unless it has received sufficient proof that — (a) the person has uploaded its accurate and up to date beneficial ownership information on the database under section 13; or (b) where the registrable legal person is a listed company, the person has complied with the requirements under section 13(5a).”; (c) by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection — “(2a) The information under subsection (1) shall only be entered in the register of beneficial owners once all the required information of that beneficial owner has been confirmed by the beneficial owner.” (d) in subsection (3) — (i) by repealing the words “commits an offence and”; (ii) by repealing “SCR50,000” and substituting it with “SCR150,000”; (e) in subsection (4) — (i) by repealing the words “commits an offence and”; (ii) by repealing “SCR50,000” and substituting it with “SCR150,000”; (f) in subsection (5) by repealing paragraphs (a) and (b) and substituting them as follows — “(a) “nominee” means a person who has been instructed to act on behalf of another person (the nominator) in a [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 692 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT certain capacity regarding a legal person, and includes a person who holds legal title over shares or other membership interests in a legal person on behalf of another person (the nominator); and (b) “nominator” means a person who instructs a nominee to act on the nominator's behalf in a certain capacity regarding a legal person, and includes a person who instructs a nominee to hold legal title over shares or other membership interests or any other control in a legal person on the nominator's behalf.” (g) by repealing subsection (6) and substituting it as follows — “(6) The resident agent shall, within 14 days of the establishment of the register of beneficial owners (including the annexures to the register of beneficial owners), cause the information to be uploaded on the database.” (h) by repealing subsection (7) and substituting it with — “(7) A person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (6) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150 000.” Amendment of section 7 6. Section 7 of the principal Act is amended by repealing the word “maintaind” and substituting it with the word “maintained”. Amendment of section 8 7. The principal Act is amended by repealing section 8 and substituting it as follows — “Retention period 8.(1) Every legal person and legal arrangement (including a legal person that has been struck-off) shall keep — [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 693 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (a) during its lifetime, its register of beneficial owners; and (b) for at least 7 years at the principal place of business of its resident agent in Seychelles — (i) a declaration of beneficial ownership made in terms of section 10(1); (ii) a written notice made in terms of sections 9 and 10(3) and a copy of any response received thereof; and (iii) any supporting documents verifying the identity of a beneficial owner pursuant to section 9(1), from the date on which that person ceased to be a beneficial owner of the legal person or legal arrangement, as the case may be. (2) Where a resident agent of a legal person or legal arrangement specified in Part A of the First Schedule ceases to be the resident agent of that legal person or legal arrangement, that resident agent shall preserve all the records required to be kept under this Act in respect of that legal person or legal arrangement, including — (a) the register of beneficial owners of the legal person or legal arrangement; (b) a copy of the declaration of beneficial ownership under section 10(1); (c) a copy of the written notice under sections 9 and 10(3), and a copy of any response received thereof; and [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 694 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (d) a copy of any supporting documents verifying the identity of a beneficial owner pursuant to section 9(1), until such time that the records are transferred to and received by the new resident agent. (3) Where a legal person or legal arrangement specified in Part A of the First Schedule is dissolved or ceases to exist or continues outside Seychelles, the resident agent shall hand over all the records required to be kept under this Act, in respect of that legal person or legal arrangement, including — (a) the register of beneficial owners of the legal person or legal arrangement; (b) a copy of the declaration of beneficial ownership under section 10(1); (c) a copy of the written notice under sections 9 and 10(3) and a copy of any response received thereof; and (d) any supporting documents verifying the identity of a beneficial owner pursuant to section 9(1), to the Competent Authority, within 30 days from the date that the legal person or legal arrangement has been dissolved or ceased to exist or continued outside Seychelles. (4) Where a legal person or legal arrangement specified in Part B of the First Schedule is dissolved or ceases to exist or continues outside Seychelles, its resident agent shall keep, for at least 7 years from the date on which the legal person or legal arrangement is dissolved or ceased to exist or continued outside Seychelles, all the records required to be kept under this Act, including — [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 695 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (a) the register of beneficial owners of the legal person or arrangement; (b) a copy of any declaration of beneficial ownership made in terms of section 10(1); and (c) a copy of any written notice made under sections 9 and 10(3) and a copy of any response received thereof; and (d) any supporting documents verifying the identity of a beneficial owner pursuant to section 9(1),” (5) Where a person — (a) is a resident agent of a legal person or legal arrangement specified in Part B of the First Schedule; and (b) ceases to hold a licence under the International Corporate Service Providers Act, 2003 (Act 10 of 2003), that person shall hand over all the records required to be kept under this Act relating to every legal person or legal arrangement under its administration (including legal persons or legal arrangements to which subsection (3) applies) to the Competent Authority within 30 days from the date that it ceases to be a resident agent or it ceases to operate unless the records have been transferred to a newly appointed resident agent prior to the records being handed over to the Competent Authority. (6) All records submitted to the Competent Authority shall be in digital form unless otherwise agreed upon between the Competent Authority and the resident agent. (7) An entry relating to a former beneficial owner of a legal person or legal arrangement may be removed from the register of [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 696 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT beneficial owners after 7 years from the date on which that person ceased to be a beneficial owner of the legal person or legal arrangement, as the case may be. (8) In case of contravention of the provisions of this section — (a) every legal person or legal arrangement; (b) every former director, general partner, trustee or councilor of the legal person or legal arrangement; (c) every resident agent; (d) every former resident agent or former director of the resident agent, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000 for each contravention.”; Amendment of section 9 8. Section 9 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (1) — (i) by inserting after the words “beneficial owners” the words “and registrable legal persons”; (ii) by inserting after the word “verify” the words “the identity of”; (b) by inserting a new subsection under Section 9(1) — (1a) Every legal person or legal arrangement shall periodically review and verify its beneficial owners at such intervals as may be prescribed by the Minister. [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 697 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (c) in subsection (2) — (i) by inserting in the chapeau after the words “believe that the person is a beneficial owner” the words “or a registrable legal person”; (ii) in paragraph (a), by inserting, after the words “beneficial owner” the words “or a registrable legal person”; (d) by inserting a new subsection (2a) after subsection (2) — “(2a) A legal person or legal arrangement is not required to take steps or give notice under subsection (2) with respect to a beneficial owner, if the legal person or legal arrangement has already been informed in writing of the person's status as a beneficial owner in relation to it, and has been supplied with all the registrable particulars.”; (e) in subsection (3) — (i) by repealing the words “A resident agent may also give” and inserting therefor the words “A legal person or legal arrangement may give”; (ii) by repealing the words “the resident agent knows” and inserting therefor the following words “the legal person or legal arrangement knows”; (iii) by inserting after the words “identity of a beneficial owner” the words “or a registrable legal person”; (f) in subsection (4), in paragraph (a), by inserting after the words “beneficial owner” the words “, or a registrable legal person”; (g) by inserting after subsection (5) the following — [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 698 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT “(6) Within 30 days of a person receiving a notice given by the legal person or legal arrangement under subsection (5), he or she shall comply with such notice by providing in writing, to the legal person or legal arrangement, the information requested in the notice. (7) Where a person fails to comply with subsection (6), the legal person or the legal arrangement shall after giving the legal or beneficial owner an opportunity of being heard and unless satisfied with any explanation provided, take action and furnish to the legal or beneficial owner, in writing' the decision of the legal person or the legal arrangement, including but not limited to — (a) the placing of such restrictions as it thinks fit on the rights attached to the legal owner's interest in the legal person or the legal arrangement, as the case may be, including — (i) any right to transfer or assign shares or other interest; (ii) any voting rights; (iii) any right to acquire further shares in addition to shares already held; (iv) any right to payment due in respect of the legal owner's interest, whether in respect of capital or otherwise; (v) in the case of a limited partnership with legal personality, any right to take part in the management of the partnership; (vi) in the case of a foundation, any benefit to which the legal owner becomes entitled under the foundation in [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 699 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT accordance with the foundation instrument or the foundation rules; or (b) the cancellation of the legal owner's interest in the legal person or the legal arrangement, as the case may be. (8) Any action taken under subsection (7) shall be appropriate and dissuasive so as to compel compliance, and a record of the action taken in that regard shall be maintained. (9) Where — (a) a person fails to comply with subsection (6); or (b) an action is taken under subsection (7), the legal person or legal arrangement shall inform the Competent Authority in writing, through its resident agent, of the failure or action taken, as the case may be, within 21 days of the failure or having taken the action. (10) Any person aggrieved by a decision taken pursuant to subsection (7), may appeal to the Supreme Court to set aside any restriction or cancellation. (11) Upon receipt of an appeal under subsection (10), the court may make such order as it thinks fit to require any person who fails to comply with a notice issued under subsection (2) or subsection (3) to — (a) provide the information sought; or (b) confirm or correct the registrable particulars sought. (12) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), (7), (8) or (9) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000 for each contravention. [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 700 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (13) A person who contravenes subsection (6) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding SCR200,000 or to both.”; Amendment of section 10 9. Section 10 of the principal Act is amended — (a) by repealing the marginal note and substituting therefor the following marginal note — “Declaration of beneficial ownership information”; (b) in subsection (1), by repealing the words “14 days” and substituting therefor the words “21 days”; (c) in subsection (2) — (i) in the chapeau by inserting after the words “receipt of the declaration of beneficial ownership” the words “under subsection (1) or a notice under subsection (3)”; (ii) in paragraph (a), by inserting after the words “beneficial ownership” the words “under subsection (1) or a notice under subsection (3)”; (iii) in paragraph (b), inserting after the word “declaration” the words “or notice”; (d) in subsection (3) — (i) by repealing the words “14 days” and substituting with the words “21 days”; (ii) by repealing the words “register of beneficial [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 701 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT ownership” and substituting them with “register of beneficial owners” (e) by inserting a new subsection after subsection (3) as follows — “(3a) The resident agent shall, within 14 days of effecting any change to the register of beneficial owners under subsection (2), cause the information to be uploaded on the database.”; (f) in subsection (4), by repealing the words “relevant change is not disclosed under subsection (3), the legal person or the legal arrangement, as the case may be, may take any action it deems appropriate” and substituting them with the words “person fails to comply with provisions of subsections (1) or (3), the legal person or the legal arrangement, as the case may be, shall take action”; (g) by inserting a new subsection after subsection (4) as follows — “(4a) Any action taken under subsection (4) shall be appropriate and dissuasive so as to compel compliance, and a record of the action taken in that regard shall be maintained. (4b) Where — (a) a person fails to comply with subsections (1) and (3); or (b) an action is taken under subsection (4), the legal person or legal arrangement shall inform the Competent Authority in writing, through its resident agent, of the failure to comply or the action taken, as the case may [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 702 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT be, within 21 days of the failure to comply or of having taken the action.”; (h) inserting a new subsection after subsection (5) as follows — “(5a) Upon receipt of an appeal under subsection (5), the court may make such order as it thinks fit to require any person who fails to comply with a notice issued under subsection (1) or subsection (3) to — (a) provide the information sought; or (b) confirm or correct the registrable particulars sought.” (i) by repealing subsection (7) and substituting therefor the following subsections — “(7) Any person who contravenes subsections (3a), (4), (4a) and (4b) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150, 000 for each contravention. (7a) Any person who contravenes subsections (1), (2), (3) and (6), commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding SCR150,000 or to both.” (j) in subsection (8) — (a) in paragraph (a), by repealing the word “or” after the words “may be;”; (b) in paragraph (b), by repealing the full-stop (.) and substituting therefor the word “; or”; (c) by inserting the following after paragraph (b) — [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 703 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT “(c) the person becomes aware of an error or inaccuracy in the beneficial ownership information uploaded on the database.” Amendment of section 11 10. Section 11 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (1) as follows — (i) in paragraph (d), by repealing the word “thepartnership; and” and substituting with the words “the partnership;”; (ii) in paragraph (e), by repealing the full-stop at the end and substituting therefor the word “; and”; (iii) by inserting after paragraph (e) the following paragraph — “(f) a director, or an authorised representative of the director, of a registrable legal person whose name is entered in the register of beneficial owners.” (b) in subsection (4) — (i) by inserting after the words “resident agent” the word “unreasonably”; (ii) by repealing the words “not less than SCR50,000.” and substituting with the words “not exceeding SCR50,000.”; (c) in subsection (5), by repealing the word “arranagement” and substituting with the word “arrangement”; [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 704 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Amendment of section 12 11. Section 12 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by inserting after the words “If any beneficial owner” the words “or registrable legal person” and by inserting after the words “the beneficial owner” the words “or registrable legal person”; Amendment of section 13 12. Section 13 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (1) by repealing the words “by populating the beneficial ownership information (including the periodic update requirements) reported by the legal persons or the legal arrangements, through their resident agent” and substituting them with the words “containing the beneficial ownership information, including the annexure to the register of beneficial owners”; (b) in subsection (4) by repealing the words “data base” and substituting therefor the word “database”; (c) by inserting after subsection (5) the following new subsection — “(5a) Notwithstanding section 2(2), a listed company shall, through its resident agent, upload on the database — (a) the name and registered address of the company; (b) the incorporation number or registration number of the company; (c) the date of incorporation or registration of the company; (d) the fact that the company is a listed company; [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 705 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (e) the jurisdiction where the company is listed, if not in Seychelles; and (f) a certification that the listed company is subject to adequate disclosure requirements in terms of transparency of beneficial ownership in the jurisdiction where it is listed.”; (d) in subsection (6), by repealing the words “SCR100,000” and substituting therefor the words “SCR150,000”; Amendment of section 14 13. Section 14 of the principal Act is amended — (a) in subsection (1) — (i) in the chapeau by inserting after the words “as the case may be, ” the following — “to provide any information required to be maintained in terms of this Act or to inspect the register, including any other documents, so maintained in terms of this Act,”; (ii) in paragraph (g) — A. by the deletion of the hyphen and substituting it with a semi colon; B. by repealing sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii); (b) in subsection (2), by repealing the words “SCR50,000” and substituting with the words “SCR150,000”; (c) in subsection (3), by repealing the words “SCR50,000” and substituting therefor the words “SCR150,000”; [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 706 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Insertion of new sections 14. The principal Act is amended by inserting the following new sections after section 14 — “Disclosure of beneficial ownership information by trustees 14A.(1) Notwithstanding section 14, a trustee shall disclose beneficial ownership information in respect of its trusts, upon request, to — (a) a financial institution; or (b) a designated non-financial business or profession; for the purpose of the financial institution's or designated non- financial business' or profession's obligation under the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, 2020 (Act 5 of 2020). (2) For the purpose of this section, the terms “financial institution” and “designated non-financial business or profession” shall have the meanings given to them respectively under the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, 2020 (Act 5 of 2020). Request for Information between trustees 14B.(1) Where a trust is administered by more than one trustee, the trustee may request any relevant beneficial ownership information in respect of the trust from any of the other trustees of the trust. (2) A trustee shall comply with a request for information made under subsection (1) within the timeframe specified in the request. [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 707 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT (3) A trustee who or which fails to comply with subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding SCR 200,000.” Imposition of penalty 14C.(1) Before, imposing any penalty under the provisions of this Act, a Competent Authority shall give the parties concerned a notice in writing — (a) of the nature of the non-compliance; (b) of the intention to impose a penalty; and an opportunity to make a written representation to show cause, within a period of not less than 14 days after the date of the notice, why a penalty should not be imposed. (2) A Competent Authority shall not impose a penalty under the provisions of this Act if it is satisfied that the person concerned has shown good cause to the satisfaction of the Competent Authority why a penalty should not be imposed. (3) Any penalty imposed under this Act shall be paid within the period and in the manner as may be specified by the Competent Authority. (4) If a person fails to pay a penalty imposed under this Act within the specified period and an appeal has not been filed within the required period, the Competent Authority may forthwith initiate steps for recovery of such penalty. (5) Any penalty imposed by the Financial Services Authority under this Act shall be paid to the Financial Services Authority. (6) Any penalty imposed by the Financial Intelligence Unit under this Act shall be paid to the Government's Consolidated Fund.” [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 708 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Amendment of section 15 15. Section 15 of the principal Act is amended by repealing the words “AML Act” and substituting thereof with the words “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, 2020”. Insertion of new section 16. The principal Act is amended by inserting after section 17 the following sections — “Power to issue guidelines or codes 17A.(1) A Competent Authority may issue guidelines or codes not inconsistent with this Act or any relevant laws for all matters which by or under this Act are required or permitted to be issued, or necessary to be provided for, in order to carry out or give effect to the provisions of this Act or any Regulations made thereunder. (2) Every person shall comply with any guidelines or codes issued by a Competent Authority. (3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (2) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000 for each contravention. Power to issue directions 17B.(1) A Competent Authority may issue a direction to a legal person or legal arrangement or resident agent, as it considers appropriate, to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act. (2) A direction issued under this Act may specify the time by which, or period during which, it shall be complied with. (3) A Competent Authority may revoke a direction issued under this section at any time. (4) Any person who fails to comply with a direction issued under this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150, 000. [30th Dece m b e r 2 0 2 2 ] Ben e ficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 709 REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL GAZETTE ACT Amendment of section 18 17. Section 18 of the principal Act is amended — (a) by deleting the marginal note “Transistional provision” and substituting it with “Transitional provision” (b) by inserting the following new subsections and numbering the existing subsection as (1) — “(2) Every legal person and legal arrangement shall comply with the requirements of the amendment to section 5(1)(a) made under this Act within 12 months from the date of promulgation of this Act. (3) Every legal person and legal arrangement shall comply with the requirements of the amendment to section 5(1)(e) made under this Act within 12 months from the date of promulgation of this Act.” Amendment of First Schedule 18. The principal Act is amended in the First Schedule in Part B — (a) in paragraph (1)(b) by deleting “incorported” and substituting it with “incorporated”. (b) in paragraph (2) by repealing subparagraph (a) and substituting it with the following — “(a) A trustee of a trust under the Trusts Act.”; I certify that this is a correct copy of the Bill which was passed by the National Assembly on 16th December, 2022. Mrs. Tania Isaac Clerk to the National Assembly