Finance Ministry Welcomes EU Decision to Remove Seychelles from Blacklist
VICTORIA, Seychelles, Following the decision by the Council of the European Union to remove Seychelles from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, officials from the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade revealed that the country welcomes the decision, as more reflective of Seychelles and commitment to meeting the standards. The announcement follows months of engagement with European authorities to address concerns. It also represents a significant boost to the country’s international standing as a financial centre.
During a press conference yesterday morning at the ministry’s headquarters at Liberty House, Secretary of State for the ministry, Patrick Payet, explained that Seychelles was deemed as non-compliant and consequently blacklisted in October 2023, after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Global Forum’s negative assessment regarding Seychelles’ exchange of information on request. The decision stemmed from difficulties in responding to information exchange requests related to a registered agent who left the jurisdiction with all of its records in 2018, following the 2016 Panama Papers disclosures. The ministry has since worked extensively to address these shortcomings and strengthen the country’s regulatory framework.
According to SS Payet, despite denouncing the EU council’s decision to add Seychelles to Annex I of its non-cooperative jurisdictions list, Seychelles engaged with the OECD for another supplementary review. In its December 2023 review, Seychelles demonstrated significant progress between March 2022 and December 2023 to the OECD, particularly in providing beneficial ownership information, and enhancing supervision. The ministry plans to table further reforms to the National Assembly within the coming month, to address legislative discrepancies and continue fostering transparency.
Director general of the financial services development division, Odile Vidot, noted that the legislative amendments will address issues relating to nominees and foreign partnerships. The regulator remains committed to working closely with international partners to ensure that the country’s legal framework meets the highest standards. Once these changes are in place, the jurisdiction will be well-positioned for a more favourable assessment in the next review cycle.
The 2025 review process is expected to last up to one year, after which the OECD will make its decision. In a press release issued yesterday, Finance Minister Naadir Hassan expressed satisfaction over the Global Forum and EU council positions. Minister Hassan stated that this is more reflective of the current state of play of the Seychelles’ compliance with the standards on tax transparency, and that they recognise the progress and commitment of the country with meeting these standards.
