2 Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“account” means any facility or arrangement by which a financial institution or a designated non-financial business or profession does any of the following—
(a) accepts deposits or funds;
(b) allows withdrawal or transfer of funds;
(c) pays negotiable or transferable instruments or other instruments;
(d) orders or collects negotiable or transferable instruments or payment orders on behalf of any other person;
(e) makes any facility or arrangement for a safety deposit box or for any other form of safe deposit; or
(f) accepts and facilitates transfer of virtual assets, including where such activity is undertaken through an electronic wallet.
(Amended by Act 12 of 2024)

“affected gift” means a gift given at any time to a third party in the form of movable property or immovable property, immovable property acquired from the proceeds of movable or immovable property gifted to such third party or from the proceeds arising in connection with an offence committed by the person who gifted the movable or immovable property in the name of a third party or in the name of some other person;
“authorised officer” means—
(a) a law enforcement officer of the Seychelles Police Force;
(b) an officer of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles; and
(c) an officer of the Seychelles Revenue Commission;
“batch file transfer of virtual assets” means several individual transfers of virtual assets which are bundled together for transmission;
(Inserted by Act 12 of 2024) “beneficiary” includes a natural person or a legal entity or arrangement, who receives money or benefits from a benefactor;
“beneficial owner” shall have the meaning assigned to it under the Beneficial Ownership Act, Cap. 251B, and the determination provided under regulation 3 of the Beneficial Ownership Regulations, Cap. 251B;
(Substituted by Act 62 of 2021) “beneficiary virtual asset service provider” means a virtual asset service provider which receives a transfer of virtual assets on behalf of a beneficiary;
(Inserted by Act 12 of 2024) “benefit from criminal conduct” means money or property derived, obtained or realised, directly or indirectly, by any person from criminal conduct;
“business relationship” means the arrangement between a person and a reporting entity whose primary purpose is to facilitate an occasional or regular course of business dealings between them;
“cash” includes notes and coins of Seychelles or of any other country which is a legal tender and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of its issue, postal orders, bearer cheques which passes title thereto upon delivery including travelers’ cheques, bank drafts and bearer bonds;
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Police;
“Commissioner General” means the Commissioner General appointed under section 4 of the Seychelles Revenue Commission Act (Cap. 322);
“Committee” means the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Committee established under section 6(1);
“consolidated supervision” means supervision of the financial group by a regulatory body on the basis of the totality of its business, wherever conducted; (Inserted by Act 7 of 2021)

“country” includes any state or territorial unit as the context may require;
“court” means the Supreme Court of Seychelles;
“Court of Appeal” means the Court of Appeal of Seychelles;
“cross border wire transfer” means any wire transfer where the ordering financial institution and beneficiary financial institution are located in different countries, and any chain of wire transfers in which at least one of the financial institutions involved is operating in a different country;
(Inserted by Act 7 of 2021) “customer” in relation to a transaction or an account, includes—
(a) the person in whose name a transaction or account is arranged, opened or undertaken;
(b) a signatory to a transaction or account;
(c) any person to whom a transaction has been assigned or transferred;
(d) any person who is authorised to conduct a transaction; or
(e) such other person as may be prescribed by regulations;
“data” means the representation in any form of information or concepts;
“Deputy Director” means the deputy director appointed under section 15;
“designated non-financial businesses or professions” means the businesses and professions included in Part C of Schedule 1;
“digital currency or crypto currency” means currency that is exclusively stored and transferred electronically, and whose value is determined by the market in which it is traded;
“Director” means the director appointed under section 14;
“domestic wire transfer” means any wire transfer where the ordering financial institution and beneficiary financial institution are operating in the Republic; (Inserted by Act 7 of 2021) “exported”, in relation to cash, includes cash being brought to any place in the Republic for the purpose of being exported and the terms “export” and “exporting” shall be construed accordingly;
“false declaration” means the misrepresentation of the value of cash being transported, or misrepresentation of other relevant data which is required to be submitted in the declaration or otherwise requested by the authorities and includes the failure to make a declaration as required;
“financial institution” means any institution that conducts a business in one or more of the following activities or operations for or on behalf of a customer—
(a) acceptance of deposits and other repayable funds from the public, including private banking;

(b) lending, including but not limited to, consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring, with or without recourse, and financing of commercial transactions, including forfeiting;
(c) financial leasing other than with respect to arrangements relating to consumer products;
(d) money or value transfer services;
(e) issuing and managing means of payment, including, but not limited to, credit and debit cards, cheques, travellers’ cheques, money orders, banker’s drafts and electronic money;
(f) issuing financial guarantees and commitments;
(g) trading in—
(i) money market instruments, including, but not limited to, cheques, bills, certificates of deposit and derivatives;
(ii) foreign exchange;
(iii) exchange, interest rate and index instruments;
(iv) transferable securities; and
(v) commodity futures trading;
(h) participating in securities issues and the provision of financial services related to such issues;
(i) individual and collective portfolio management;
(j) safekeeping and administration of cash or liquid securities on behalf of other persons;
(k) investing, administering or managing funds or money on behalf of other persons;
(l) underwriting and placement of life insurance and other investmentrelated insurance, including insurance intermediation by agents and brokers;
(m) money changing;
(m1) virtual asset service providers; and
(Inserted by Act 12 of 2024)
(n) carrying on such other activity, business or operation, as may be prescribed by regulations;
“FIU” means the Financial Intelligence Unit established under section 10;
“funds” means assets of any kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal, tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, however acquired, and legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital, evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets;

“intermediary virtual asset service provider” means a virtual asset service provider which —
(i)

participates in the execution of a transfer of virtual assets; and

(ii)

is not the originating virtual asset service provider or beneficiary virtual asset service provider;
(Inserted by Act 12 of 2024)

“law enforcement agency” means the Financial Crime Investigation Unit or any other Unit as may be designated by the Commissioner of Police within the Seychelles Police Force; the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles;
the Department of Immigration; the Seychelles Revenue Commission or any other Agency as may be specified by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette to carry out criminal investigation in Seychelles, and the terms “law enforcement officer” or “law enforcement authority” refers to a duly authorised officer of the law enforcement agency;
“legal arrangement” means a partnership of persons, a trust or similar arrangement or any person holding assets in a fiduciary capacity and any other similar entity or arrangement;
“legal person” means any entity other than a natural person that can establish a customer relationship with a financial institution or otherwise own property and the term legal entity shall be construed accordingly;
“legal privilege” means the confidentiality accorded to any communication between an Attorney-at-Law and a client for the purposes of obtaining or providing legal advice or legal representation in respect of any criminal matter but does not extend to any conduct of the Attorney-at-Law or material in the possession or control of the Attorney-at-Law for the purposes of aiding and abetting, assisting, attempting, counselling, conspiring, concealing or procuring the commission of criminal conduct by the client or any other person;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Finance and the term “Ministry” shall be construed accordingly;
“monetary instruments” includes—
(a) notes and coins of Seychelles or of any other country which is a legal tender and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of its issue;
(b) travellers’ cheques, personal cheques, bank cheques, money orders or securities;
(c) any currency that is stored or transferred electronically, which is commonly referred to as digital currency or crypto currency;
(d) any other negotiable instrument through which title passes upon delivery;

“money or value transfer services provider or MVTS provider” means a body corporate licensed by the Central Bank of Seychelles to carry on the business of money or value transfer services; (Inserted by Act 7 of 2021) “Non-Profit Organisation (NPO)” refers to a legal person or arrangement or organisation that primarily engages in raising or disbursing funds for the purposes of charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal purposes, or for carrying out any other good works;
“offence” means violation of any law in Seychelles, or violation of any law in a foreign State, which, if it occurred in Seychelles, would constitute an offence in Seychelles;
“originator” means the account holder who authorises the wire transfer from his account, or where there is no account, the person who places the order with the ordering financial institution to perform the wire transfer;
(Inserted by Act 7 of 2021) “originating virtual asset service provider” means the virtual asset service provider which initiates the transfer of virtual assets on behalf of a beneficiary;
(Inserted by Act 12 of 2024) “payable-through account” means a correspondent account that is used directly by third parties to transact business on their own behalf; (Inserted by Act 7 of 2021) “pecuniary penalty order” means an order passed under Part X of this Act;
“person” means any natural or legal person, and includes a body of persons whether it has legal personality or not;
“proceedings” includes the hearing before any court, tribunal, commission or any committee appointed by the Government;
“proceeds of crime” means any property or economic advantage or income, capital or other economic gain or benefit or part thereof derived or realised directly or indirectly from, or as a result of—
(a) the commission of an offence in Seychelles;
(b) any act committed outside Seychelles, which, if it had been committed in Seychelles, would constitute an offence, and includes property that has been converted or transformed, in full or in part, into other property;
“production order” means an order issued under section 66;
“property” includes money and all property, real or personal, heritable or moveable, including tangible or intangible or incorporeal property or a virtual asset and any reference to the property shall be construed as including reference to any interest in property, and includes property outside the Republic where by virtue of its domestic jurisdiction generally, in rem or in personam or by virtue of an arrangement with any other

country or territory, the Court might be in a position to enforce or secure compliance with any order it might make or where it might otherwise exercise jurisdiction in relation to that property to comply with an arrangement or a request from another country or territory;
“realizable property” means property liable to be taken into possession and disposed of under this Act and includes property in the custody or possession of a person other than the beneficial owner;
“regulated business” means a business for which a licence is required under the corresponding Act;
“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act;
“reporting entity” means an entity or person specified in Schedule 1;
“Republic” means the Republic of Seychelles;
“restraint order” means an order referred to in section 69;
“revenue” means taxes, duties, contributions, fees, levies, charges, penalties, fines and other moneys collected under the Acts specified in the Schedule to the Seychelles Revenue Commission Act (Cap. 322);
“revenue laws” means any law or regulation relating to any tax, including the revenue laws as specified in the Schedule to the Seychelles Revenue Commission Act (Cap. 322);
“Selection Committee” means the Selection Committee appointed by the President under section 14(5);
“Seychelles Revenue Commission” means the Seychelles Revenue Commission established under section 3 of the Seychelles Revenue Commission Act
(Cap. 322);
“supervisory authority” means the supervisory authorities specified in the Second Schedule;
“Suspicious Transaction Report or Suspicious Activity Report” means a report that shall be submitted by a reporting entity to the FIU under section 48, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an activity or a transaction or series of transactions made or attempted in the course of their activities relating to the commission or the attempted commission of criminal conduct including money laundering and terrorist financing offences; (Substituted by Act 62 of 2021) “tax” means any tax, duty, levy or charge under the care and management of the Seychelles Revenue Commission including but not limited to business tax, contributions to the Social Security Fund, stamp duty and any other levy by way of taxation;
“terrorist financing activities” means the provisioning of material support in the form of funds to terrorist acts, terrorists and terrorist organisations and covered under section 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Cap. 179), and

the expression “financing of terrorist activities” shall be construed accordingly;
“virtual asset” means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes and does not include digital representation of fiat currencies, securities and other financial assets;
“virtual asset service provider” means a business that conducts one or more of the following actions on behalf of its customers —
(a) exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies;
(b) exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets;
(c) transfer of virtual assets;
(d) safekeeping and/or administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets; and
(e) participating in and provision of financial services related to an issuer's offer and/or sale of virtual asset;”;
“virtual asset transfer” means any transaction carried out with a view to making an amount of virtual assets available to a beneficiary person, irrespective of whether the originator and the beneficiary are the same person;
(Inserted by Act No 12 of 2024) “wire transfer” means any transaction carried out on behalf of an originator through a financial institution by electronic means with a view to making an amount of funds available to a beneficiary person at a beneficiary financial institution, irrespective of whether the originator and the beneficiary are the same person. (Inserted by Act 7 of 2021)