The Financial Services Commission, Mauritius (FSC), has denied the allegations made by the recent Hindenburg Research that claims the use of Mauritian shell companies and the country’s labelling as a ‘tax haven’.
As reported by media, the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius (FSC), issued a statement on 13 August saying, “ FSC has taken cognizance of the contents of the report published by Hindenburg Research on 10 August 2024 wherein mention has been made of ‘Mauritius-based shell entities and Mauritius as ‘tax haven’. The FSC wishes to highlight that the legislative frame in Mauritius does not permit the creation of shell companies. Mauritius has a robust framework for global business companies.
“All global business companies licensed by the FSC have to meet substance requirements on an ongoing basis as per section 71 of the Financial Services Act, which is strictly monitored by the FSC.”
The regulator highlighted that Mauritius strictly complies with international best practices and has been rated as compliant with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards.
“As per the peer review conducted by the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices, the OECD is satisfied that Mauritius does not have any harmful features in its tax regimes, thus recognizing Mauritius as a well-regulated, transparent and compliant jurisdiction. Therefore, Mauritius cannot be termed as a tax haven,” FSC said.
The Mauritian regulator further clarified that the report has further cited, “IPE Plus Fund” ‘Is a small offshore Mauritius Fund’ and ‘IPE Plus Fund 1, a fund registered in Mauritius.’ We wish to clarify that IPE Plus Fund and IPE Plus Fund 1 are not licensees of the FSC and are not domiciled in Mauritius.
The FSC is the integrated regulator for the non-financial banking services sector and global business.
