8 Retention period

(1) Every legal person and legal arrangement (including a legal person that has been struck-off) shall keep—
(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 Schedule 1 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
(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 Schedule 1 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 Schedule 1 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––
(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);
(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 Schedule 1; 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 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 councillor 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. (Inserted by Act 38 of 2022)