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Trusts have been the cornerstone instrument of choice for wealth management and asset protection. Seychelles provides a sophisticated trust legislation, the International Trusts Act of 1994, which espouses affordable registration fees and deeply-entrenched guarantees of secrecy and confidentiality. Anonymity is guaranteed by law – unless the beneficiary is a Seychellois national or body corporate, the name of the settlor and the beneficiary may not be included in the trust deed.
Disclosure of any information in relation to a trust may only be done by specific injunction of the Seychelles Supreme Court and then again, only if this is an application made by the Seychelles Attorney General. Such application shall only be made for the purposes of an inquiry relating to funding of terrorism, drug and arms trafficking, and money laundering.
A Seychelles trust may be created by an oral declaration, in writing (unit trust) or by will or codicil. The Settlor may choose the applicable law governing the trust. A foreign trust with a governing law of choice of the settlor shall be valid and enforceable in Seychelles, and may be a private of charitable (purpose) trust.
The most salient features of a Seychelles Trust may be summarised as follows:
- low trust registration fee – a one-time disbursement of US $100;
- the transfer or disposition by a person creating a foreign trust is valid and may not be deemed invalid by any foreign rule of mandatory or statutory heirship (such as provisions relating to reserved portion and/or legitim);
- no restrictions on the accumulation of trust income;
- the settlor can also be the trustees and/or beneficiaries under the trust;
- the choice of law in the trust may be freely elected by the settlor and enforceable in Seychelles;
- confidentiality regarding the names of the settlor and beneficiary (non inclusion in the trust deed), unless the beneficiary, legal or physical person is a Seychelles resident;
- a Seychelles trust may own and trade in other shares, operate bank accounts or even deal in government securities in the country;
- no taxes, stamp duty or capital gains tax for international trusts registered in Seychelles.
For assistance in the registration of a Seychelles Trust, contact one of our officers today. Simply fill in the below contact box or contact us by e-mail on enquiries@fbsseychelles.com
