Country overview

Mauritius is known as a resort and offshore located in Africa. There is also a well-developed regulatory regime for fintech and cryptocurrencies.

Mauritius has a moderate danger security level according to our rating. Jurisdiction has 51.9 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (1). Homicide level (2) is 2.2 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.

The Bank of Mauritius doesn’t recognize (3) virtual tokens as legal tender or payment instruments that the central bank regulates. That’s why there is no regulation for crypto payments in Mauritius.

No regulation.

FSC of Mauritius is the regulator. In 2021, Mauritius released its first crypto licensing document(4) in Africa, the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act.

The VA Act's primary purpose (5) was to provide a legislative framework for digital asset regulation. It addressed the intricate matter involving business activities with virtual assets and initial token offerings. Mauritius’ crypto ecosystem finally had crypto laws that met the international standards of the Financial Action Task Force concerning managing, mitigating, and preventing any anti-money laundering risk involved with digital currency.

As one of the first crypto licenses in Africa, it established several safeguards that would keep up with the pace of Africa’s ever-evolving digital asset market.

The classes of VASP licenses are broadly categorized as follows:

Class "M" – Virtual asset broker-dealer;

Class "O" – Virtual asset wallet services;

Class "R" – Virtual asset custodian;

Class "I" – Virtual asset advisory services or

Class "S" – Virtual asset marketplace (or Virtual Asset Exchange).

1)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

2)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

3) Financial Services Commission Mauritius

4)First crypto licensing document in Mauritius. PDF-file

5) Mauritius enforces crypto licensing in a bid to promote adoption. Article

6)Overview. PWC

7)Corporate - Income determination. PWC