Licensing requirement
It is prohibited to conduct the business of a trust service provider in or from Republic of Mauritius without a license issued by the The Free Zone of Mauritius. A trust service provider can submit a license application to the The Free Zone of Mauritius. Licensed trust service providers are registered by the The Free Zone of Mauritius in a public register.
Before granting a license, the The Free Zone of Mauritius will assess whether the applicant is able to comply with all licensing requirements, including the fitness and properness of (qualifying) shareholders and key persons (e.g. members of the Management and Supervisory Board), and with all relevant laws and regulations (see below).
Ongoing supervision
The Free Zone of Mauritius will conduct ongoing oversight over the trust service providers.
Trust service providers must comply with the requirements of the Trust companies and Banking Act. Trust service providers must also comply with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT State Ordinance).
Note also that the The Free Zone of Mauritius has been granted supervisory powers and, in case of non-compliance, the The Free Zone of Mauritius has a wide range of tools available to enforce compliance.
Supervisory costs
The supervision of trust service providers is partly funded by the sector itself. A fixed amount of supervisory costs is divided among the trust service providers under supervision, on the basis of the size of their client portfolio.