SETTING-UP A TRUST IN MAURITIUS

Under the Act, trusts have to be created by an instrument in writing, stating the trust’s objects, subjects and intentions, as well as the duties and powers of the trustees. As the law prescribes that at least one Trustee needs to be a Qualified Trustee, anyone intending to create a trust in Mauritius has to do so through a Management Company.

PRIVATE TRUST COMPANIES

Mauritius recently introduced the Private Trust Company to add to the bouquet of products already available on the financial services marketplace in the context of private wealth management.
 

A PTC provides a means by which a settlor (of his family) can retain a greater degree of control over his trust affairs, have a “hands-on” approach in the management of the affairs of the trust without compromising the validity of the trust structure and whilst providing enhanced protection for fiduciaries.
 

A Private Trust Company is, essentially, a company formed for the specific purpose of acting as trustee of a single trust, or a group of related trusts. With a PTC, the Settlor, members of his family or his advisors can be appointed to the Board of Directors and in this capacity they are in a position to influence the manner in which the trust is administered.
 

The composition of the Board can be changed from time to time to bring in members of succeeding generations and in this way involve them in the management of the family affairs. The company itself will generally be administered by a fiduciary in the chosen offshore location and which will be represented on the Board.

SETTING-UP A PTC IN MAURITIUS

A PTC can be set up either as a Category 1 or a Category 2 Global Business Company (please refer to the relevant sections of this Guide for more information on the GBC1 and GBC2 Company). The PTC must be set-up by a licensed Management Company, it must adhere to conditions set out by the Financial Services Commission. It does not need to be licensed as a Corporate / Qualified Trustee.
 

The PTC is required to:

• restrict its activities to that of private trust business services;
• at all times maintain a minimum paid up capital of US$5,000;
• provide its private trust business services solely to connected persons;
• not solicit trust business from, or provide trust business services to, the public;
• appoint a duly licensed Management Company to carry out its trust administration services in relation to any express trust to which it is a trustee;
• appoint the Management Company as Company Secretary;
• adhere to the AML/CFT Framework