Mauritius and the FATF Grey List: What It Meant for Companies

Mauritius FATF grey list removal is often read as the end of a difficult period. For a company, it is better read as the point where the reforms made during that period became permanent. This page explains what the listing was, how a country gets on and off the list, what it changed for companies and their banks, and which obligations did not disappear when the country came off.

It is general information, not advice. Exact dates and the current status should always be checked against the latest publications of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and of the European Union, because this page deliberately does not fix them.

What the FATF grey list is

The FATF is the international body that sets standards against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. It reviews countries and publishes a list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, commonly called the grey list. A listed country has committed to fix identified weaknesses in its legal and supervisory framework within an agreed plan.

Being listed is not a sanction in the legal sense. Its effect comes from how banks, regulators and counterparties react to the label.

FATF Mauritius: why the country was assessed

Mauritius is an international financial centre. A large part of its business consists of companies owned from abroad, which is exactly where the FATF looks hardest: who really owns and controls a company, who checks it, and whether suspicious activity reaches the authorities. The weaknesses identified concerned the way those questions were answered in law and in supervision, not any single company.

How a country moves on and off the list

The path is the same for every jurisdiction. The sequence below is a simplified view.

Removal follows verification, not the other way round. That is why the measures introduced during the plan stay on the statute book after the label is gone.

The EU list of high-risk third countries

The European Union keeps its own list of high-risk third countries for anti-money laundering purposes. A search for "EU high risk third countries Mauritius" usually reflects one concern: whether European banks and professionals must apply enhanced checks to Mauritian counterparties.

The EU list is a separate process from the FATF's, even though it draws heavily on it. Listing by the EU triggers enhanced due diligence for European obliged entities dealing with the country, and its removal lifts that automatic requirement. It does not stop a European bank from applying its own risk appetite. Always check the current text of the EU list rather than relying on a summary.

What the listing meant for companies

For a Mauritian company, the effect rarely came from a rule addressed to it. It came from the people it dealt with.

• Banks asked for more documents on ownership, activity and the origin of funds, and took longer to open or review accounts.
• Counterparties abroad applied enhanced checks to payments and contracts linked to Mauritius.
• Service providers tightened their onboarding and review cycles.
• Authorities pushed through legal reforms on beneficial ownership and reporting.

The practical lesson for a company owner is that the questions asked during that period were the same questions banks still ask today. Preparing a clean answer is cheaper than improvising one. Our guides on KYC for corporate clients and on source of funds and source of wealth show what evidence is usually requested.

What changed in company law

Beneficial ownership became a standing duty

Every Mauritian company must identify its beneficial owner at all times and, where relevant, any nominee. The details go into a separate register: full name and residential address, national identity or passport number, nationality, and the holding structure that leads to the ultimate beneficial owner (Companies Act 2001, s. 91(3A), as updated on 15 May 2026).

The company must also keep a record of the steps taken to identify the beneficial owner, including a written declaration from the beneficial owner, who in turn must tell the company of any change in status. The information must be accurate, current and available without delay to the competent authorities on request.

The Registrar of Companies keeps its own Beneficial Ownership Register, open to competent authorities and prescribed public authorities. The Companies Act does not describe that register as public.

A company incorporated before these provisions took effect, through the Finance Act 2025 (Act No. 18 of 2025, Gazette No. 66 of 9 August 2025), had to comply by 30 June 2026. For the underlying concept, see who counts as a beneficial owner and the practical guide to the beneficial ownership register.

The definition was tightened

The older wording of section 91 relied on 25% of voting rights. The current definition, introduced by Act 10/2024 (Government Gazette No. 77 of 25 July 2024), looks at the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company, or for whom a transaction is carried out, through direct or indirect shareholding at a prescribed percentage, voting rights, ownership interest or control by other means. Control by other means matters: a person can be a beneficial owner without holding the largest block of shares.

The Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD) also lists on its guidelines page a document titled "BO Guidance – Identification of Beneficial Owners under the Companies Act 2001", dated 5 October 2026. Its detailed content has not been reviewed for this page, so read it directly before relying on it.

Filing and enforcement

The beneficial ownership information is filed through CBRIS at incorporation, when the annual return is filed, and on any transfer or issue of shares (s. 91). Failing to comply with the filing of beneficial owner information is one of the grounds on which the Registrar may strike a company off the register (s. 309(1)). Other grounds include ceasing to carry on business without reason to continue, unpaid registration fees, and failure to file the annual return.

Before striking off for cessation of business, the Registrar notifies the company and publishes a notice in the Gazette; the company has at least 28 days to show it still operates or has a reason to continue (s. 310). A change of director or secretary must also be notified to the Registrar within 28 days, and each director and the secretary commit an offence otherwise, punishable by a fine of up to Rs 200 000 (s. 142).

What changed in the AML/CFT framework

The company service provider is among the professions covered by the FIAMLA, with the Registrar of Companies as supervisory body. This includes acting as a formation agent for a legal person, such as a company, foundation or limited liability partnership, who helps a third party incorporate or register it. That is why the corporate service provider you instruct will ask for identification documents before it acts, and why those requests are not optional for it.

Act No. 3 of 2026 amended Part IV of the FIAMLA, on measures against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, with effect from 18 April 2026. The changes touch suspicious transaction reporting and risk assessment, among other points. The text of the law is covered in a separate guide, AML/CFT legislation explained for business owners; what matters here is that the reform programme was still moving after the listing period, not frozen. For the reporting side, see suspicious transaction reports and the role of the MLRO.

Banking arrangements for global business companies

A new criterion introduced by Act 13 of 2026, with effect from 1 September 2026, requires a Global Business Company to ensure that its bank accounts are operated under a bank signatory arrangement that complies with the guidelines issued by the Financial Services Commission (Financial Services Act, s. 71(3)(b)(vi)). It shows that supervisory expectations continue to grow after removal.

Before and after removal: what changed and what did not

The right-hand column is the point of this page: the label disappeared, the duties did not.

Should a company do anything differently now?

The decision depends on your structure, so the tree below only orients the first question.

A short checklist is usually enough to find gaps:

• Beneficial owner and any nominee identified and recorded in the separate register
• Written declaration from the beneficial owner on file
• Filing at the last annual return and after each share transfer or issue
• Changes of directors and secretary notified within 28 days
• Bank onboarding file up to date, including source of funds evidence
• Business risk assessment reviewed after the 2026 amendments

The compliance calendar helps place these points in the year, and the penalties for AML failures explain what is at stake when they are missed. If your situation involves several jurisdictions or a complex chain of holdings, an adviser's analysis is the right next step; you can reach a licensed provider through the contact form.