Seychelles’ Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) committee is working on the position the country is going to have regarding virtual assets and their service providers, keeping in line with the National Fintech Strategy created by the Central Bank.
The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) has released a statement after a recent article published by Reuters regarding Seychelles-based KuCoin, the victim of a digital currency heist in which $281 million worth of assets from a crypto exchange were stolen in September 2020.
The Central Bank, the only entity which has the right to issue legal tender notes and coins in Seychelles rupees, has commented that it doesn’t regulate cryptocurrencies at the moment.
This basically means that crypto or virtual assets aren’t considered currency over there and thus not legal tender.
“Moreover, currently, cryptocurrency is not a means of payment that is offered by financial institutions licensed or regulated by CBS under the Financial Institutions Act or the National Payment Systems Act,” the bank mentioned.
The Central Bank did mention that it was aware “of the increasing popularity of virtual currencies and assets on the international arena, as well as the developing interest on the domestic front and the associated risks and the impact of such activities locally.”
As a result, it is now in the process of preparing the position of the country regarding virtual assets and their service providers, with the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Committee (NAC) being on it.
CBS has declared that this is in line with similar policies that are created by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group, in the western Indian Ocean archipelago, of which Seychelles is a member.