Government is sparing no efforts to complete the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan for an early exit of the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, stated Finance Minister, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, this evening, in the budget speech of 2021/2022.
He reiterated that the measures announced in this Budget will accelerate our economic recovery, and boost GDP Growth, and place the public sector debt on a downward path.
The announced measures are:
- Various measures including supervisory, regulatory and law enforcement have been introduced to further strengthen the sustainability and effectiveness of our AML-CFT system;
- Relevant legislations were amended to meet the requirements of the FATF Recommendations on AML-CFT, namely, new personnel have been recruited to strengthen compliance capacity and Financial Crimes Divisions have been set-up at the Supreme Court and the Intermediate Court with a view to ensuring that financial crime cases are dealt with expeditiously in a view to enhance our AML-CFT legislative framework and its implementation;
- The Financial Services Commission will be established for a more effective management to fight against financial crime;
- Furthermore, a new Bank of Mauritius Bill and Banking Bill will be introduced reflecting best international practices;
- A Securitisation Bill will be introduced to sustain the development of this sector;
- The tax holiday for Family Offices as well as Fund and Asset Managers will be extended from 5 to 10 years;
- A new Securities Bill will be introduced;
- A new legislation for virtual assets will be enacted;
- The Bank of Mauritius will roll-out a Central Bank Digital Currency – The Digital Rupee – on a pilot basis;
- The Bank of Mauritius will introduce a dedicated QR Code at national level to facilitate digital payments;
- The Bank of Mauritius guidelines allowing the setting up of regional offices by international banks will be revamped in line with latest international trends;
- The Bank of Mauritius and the FSC will set up respectively an Open-Lab for banking and payment Solutions and a FinTech Innovation Lab to encourage an entrepreneurship culture;
- The FSC will also implement a digital centralised information exchange system to facilitate motor insurance claim recoveries;
- The FSC One platform will be launched as an online licensing portal as from 1st July 2021;
- The Stock Exchange of Mauritius will introduce rules for the setting up of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; and
- The BOM and the FSC will launch a one-year training programme on AML and related matters for a minimum of 100 graduates with a monthly stipend of Rs 15,000.
