5 Register of beneficial owners

(1) Every legal person and legal arrangement shall maintain a register, to be known as a register of beneficial owners, at the principal place of business of its resident agent in Seychelles, containing the following information in respect of every beneficial owner of such legal person or legal arrangement—
(a) 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 beneficial owner; (Amended by Act 38 of 2022)
(b) details of each beneficial owner’s beneficial interest, as may be prescribed by regulations;
(c) the date on which a person became a beneficial owner;
(d) the date on which a person ceased to be a beneficial owner;
(d1) where a nominee has been appointed or ceased to be a nominee—
(i) the date on which the nominee has been appointed;
(ii) the date on which the nominee ceased to be a nominee; (Inserted by Act 38 of 2022)
(e) where a nominee holds interest on behalf of the beneficial owner, the following particulars shall be included in an annexure to the register of beneficial owners—
(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 or equivalent (if any) and the information and details of the interest held by the nominee; and
(ii) the identity of the nominator, and where the nominator is a legal person, the identity of the beneficial owner the nominator; (Amended by Act 38 of 2022)
(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. (Inserted by Act 38 of 2022)
(1a) A legal person or legal arrangement shall not include the name of a registrable legal person in the register 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). (Inserted by Act 38 of 2022)
(2) Every legal person and legal arrangement, as the case may be, shall maintain accurate and up-to-date information required under subsection (1) in the register of beneficial owners.
(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. (Inserted by Act 38 of 2022)
(3) A person who fails to maintain the register of beneficial owners under subsection (1) or to maintain accurate and up-to-date information under subsection (2) by the legal person or the legal arrangement, as the case may be, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000 for each such failure. (Amended by Act 38 of 2022)
(4) In case of contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2), in addition to the penalty upon a legal person or a legal arrangement, as the case may be, every director, councillor of the legal person or a partner or a general partner of the legal arrangement, as the case may be, shall also be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000 for each contravention. (Amended by Act 38 of 2022)
(5) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a) “nominee” means a person who has been instructed to act on behalf of another person (the nominator) in a 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. (Amended by Act 38 of 2022)
(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. (Substituted by Act 38 of 2022)
(7) A person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (6) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding SCR150,000. (Substituted by 38 of 2022)
(8) The minimum threshold for identification of beneficial owners of legal persons or legal arrangements shall be such as may be prescribed by regulations.