MAURITIUS Tightens Beneficial Ownership Rules Ahead of Its Next ESAAMLG (FATF) Evaluation

Mauritius has used its 2026 Budget legislation to tighten beneficial ownership transparency and realign its non-profit framework with FATF standards.

• The message to the market is clear: the evaluators are coming, and they will test whether ownership information exists, is accurate, and can be produced on demand.

The headline:

• The Finance Act 2026 and the Economic and Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 were enacted on 12 August 2026 and gazetted on 13 August 2026.[1]

  • The Finance Act is largely fiscal.

  • The Miscellaneous Provisions Act is where the AML/CFT/CPF substance is set out, and it is expressly linked to Mauritius' preparation for its next ESAAMLG Mutual Evaluation.[1]

  • Mauritius enters that evaluation from a strong technical position.

• The FSC reports that the jurisdiction is now Compliant on 26 and Largely Compliant on 14 of the 40 FATF Recommendations, having been removed from the FATF grey list in October 2021.[2]

• Its last full evaluation report was published in 2018.[5] That is precisely why the next round matters:

  • Technical compliance is largely banked, so assessors will focus on effectiveness —

  • Whether the framework works in practice, firm by firm, file by file.

A note on timing.

• The ESAAMLG Secretariat, the Economic Development Board and industry commentary all refer to a 2027 assessment.[3][4]

• The FSC's own AML/CFT page, however, currently states that the next Mutual Evaluation is scheduled for 2028.[2]

• The phases may straddle both years, but this has not been publicly confirmed.

• Either way, the practical deadline for firms is the same: 30 June 2027.

What has changed

1. Beneficial ownership: more data and proof [1] of how you got it:

• Date of birth of beneficial owners (BOs) and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) must now be recorded in the BO registers of companies, partnerships and foundations.

• ID&V - Entities must keep records evidencing the steps taken to identify their BOs — not just the outcome, but the work.

• Record-keeping - BO identification and record-keeping requirements are extended across additional legal structures, including partnerships.

• LLPs and LPs: the Limited Liability Partnership Act and Limited Partnership Act are amended so that BO/UBO information includes the date of birth.

• Sociétés are brought within the BO filing requirements, subject to transitional arrangements.

• Deadline: legal persons, LLPs and LPs established before commencement must update their records and comply by 30 June 2027.

2. Charitable foundations: judged on what they do, not what they say:

The definition of a “charitable foundation” shifts from:

• A test based on stated objects to one based on activities—principally, whether the foundation raises or disburses funds for charitable, religious, cultural, educational, social, or fraternal purposes, or other good works.

The new definition tracks the FATF functional definition of a non-profit organisation under Recommendation 8. Foundation BO registers must also now capture the BO date of birth.[1]

3. Related changes with a financial crime angle

• Golden Visa and AI Founder routes to permanent residence, each tied to an investment of at least USD 1 million.[1] The FATF and OECD have documented how investment-migration programmes can be exploited to launder criminal proceeds [8]; these clients warrant robust source-of-wealth and source-of-funds checks.

• Private Wealth Management Licence under a new section 79B of the Financial Services Act. Permitted activities will be set by the FSC Rules, which are not yet published.[1] New licensees should expect to need a mature AML/CFT framework from day one.

• Global business entity definition for trusts and foundations widened to include those whose founder/settlor or all beneficiaries hold a Global Business Licence, and trustees of unit trust schemes.[1] This may change how structures are classified and risk-rated.

• Tougher MRA enforcement: higher VAT penalties and a new offence for failing to comply with the MRA's information-gathering powers.[1]

Why do the evaluators care:

These changes map directly onto the areas assessors probe hardest:

• Recommendation 24 (transparency of legal persons), revised by the FATF in March 2022 to require adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons.[6] The FATF indicated it would assess the revised requirements from the start of the new round of evaluations.[7]

• Immediate Outcome 5 — whether that BO information is actually available and reliable in practice, not merely required on paper.

• Recommendation 8 — a targeted, risk-based approach to NPOs, which the new charitable foundation definition is designed to support.[1]

The “steps taken to identify” requirement is the tell. Assessors will not be satisfied by a populated register; they will ask how the firm knows it is right.

What firms need to do now:

1. Gap-analyse every BO register you maintain or rely on. Identify every BO/UBO record missing a date of birth. Do not leave this to Q2 2027 — chasing hard-to-reach owners is what takes time.

2. Document your BO methodology. For each entity, keep an auditable trail: ownership chain, control analysis, documents relied on, and why a senior managing official fallback was or was not used.

3. Map your sociétés, LLPs and LPs. Confirm which are in scope and track the transitional arrangements once published.

4. Re-test foundations against the activity-based charitable definition. Reclassify where needed and apply a proportionate, risk-based NPO assessment.

5. Update procedures, forms and systems. Onboarding templates, CDD checklists and client database fields must capture the date of birth and the identification evidence.

6. Strengthen controls for investment-migration clients. Golden Visa, AI Founder, and investor permit applicants will undergo enhanced scrutiny of their sources of wealth and funds.

7. Revisit structure classification and risk ratings in light of the revised global business entity definition.

8. Brief the Board. Directors should be able to evidence oversight: a remediation plan, an owner, a timeline, and management information tracking progress to 30 June 2027.

9. Prepare for effectiveness testing. Expect assessors to sample files and meet the private sector. Staff should be able to explain the firm's risk assessment, CDD decisions and suspicious transaction reporting — not just point to a manual.

What to watch for:

• Commencement provisions for the relevant sections

• Transitional arrangements for sociétés

• FSC Rules for the Private Wealth Management Licence

• Registrar, FSC and FIU guidance, and any update to the FSC AML/CFT Handbook

• Official confirmation of the evaluation timetable

What we do not yet know:

The published summaries are silent on several points firms will want answered: the sanctions for missing the 30 June 2027 deadline, whether parallel changes are being made for trusts and other legal arrangements (FATF Recommendation 25), and how the Registrar will verify the new data. Firms should not assume silence means no change.

The bottom line:

Mauritius has done the legislative work. The evaluation will turn on whether firms have done theirs. The 30 June 2027 deadline is not the finish line — it is the point at which assessors start checking.

Sources

[1] Axis Fiduciary Ltd, “The Finance Act 2026 and The Economic and Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 (Key legislative amendments)” (2026). https://www.axis.mu

[2] Financial Services Commission Mauritius, “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) & Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG)”. https://www.fscmauritius.org/amlcftcpf/financial-action-task-force-fatf-eastern-and-southern-africa-anti-money-laundering-group-esaamlg/

[3] AllAfrica / GIS Mauritius, “ESAAMLG Secretariat Leads Two-Day Mission in Mauritius” (July 2025). https://allafrica.com/stories/202507150496.html

[4] Economic Development Board Mauritius, “Mauritius Strengthens AML/CFT Preparedness with High-Level Masterclass Ahead of 2027 ESAAMLG Evaluation” (16 September 2025). https://edbmauritius.org/newsroom/mauritius-strengthens-aml-cft-preparedness-with-high-level-masterclass-ahead-of-2027-esaamlg-evaluation/

[5] ESAAMLG, Mutual Evaluation Report of Mauritius (September 2018). https://www.esaamlg.org/index.php/Mutual_Evaluations/readmore_me/410

[6] FATF, “Public Statement on revisions to R.24” (4 March 2022). https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfrecommendations/R24-statement-march-2022.html

[7] CFATF, “FATF adopts amendments to Recommendation 24 and its Interpretive Note” (March 2022). https://cfatf-gafic.org/fatf-adopts-amendments-to-recommendation-24-and-its-interpretive-note/

[8] FATF/OECD, “Misuse of Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programmes” (November 2023). https://www.fatf-gafi.org/content/fatf-gafi/en/publications/Methodsandtrends/misuse-CBI-RBI-programmes.html

This article is general information, not legal advice. It draws on Axis Fiduciary Ltd's summary of the legislation rather than the gazetted text; firms should verify obligations against the Acts as gazetted and any implementing rules or guidance.