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- The cryptocurrency menace is fast catching up with Seychelles, the Island Nation. Triggered by the complaints mainly from the people and investors who lost a fortune, the government has initiated a survey on virtual assets, which has thrown up many interesting facts
The cryptocurrency menace is fast catching up with Seychelles, the Island Nation. Triggered by the complaints mainly from the people and investors who lost a fortune, the government has initiated a survey on virtual assets, which has thrown up many interesting facts.
Addressing Parliament recently, Seychelles’ finance minister, Naadir Hassan, said that cryptocurrency was not recognized as legal tender by Seychelles’ Central Bank. He cautioned individuals who trade using cryptocurrency that they were doing so at their own risk. Importantly,
The minister said that the number of complaints about cryptocurrency is on the rise, mainly coming from people who have lost their money while using virtual currency to settle transactions. The Financial Services Authority, Seychelles, he said, was keeping a tight watch on those illegal activities and would take measures to uproot these trends.
Between January 2019, and March 2021, FIU recorded 187 requests for information on companies that are reported to have engaged in virtual currency. Those cases were mostly about illegal activities using cryptocurrencies. Based on this feedback, the government, through FSA, did a national risk assessment on virtual assets and businesses that offer services using virtual assets to understand the current state and the risk associated with it, based on the first six months of 2022.
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The national risk assessments done by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) showed that complaints about activities using cryptocurrency were increasing in Seychelles, as was the case the world over. He also said that the government was aware that certain international business companies and businesses registered in Seychelles are engaging in cryptocurrency activities and revealed that the government would put in place legal provisions to book businesses doing virtual. assets activities as soon as possible and make license provisions depending on what type of activities Seychelles would allow.
