Due to its relaxed know-your-customer procedures, the African country has been a global haven for crypto businesses running away from strict regulations. According to a 2020 report, 72% of African-domiciled crypto assets exchanges and services are registered in the Seychelles and 70% of those Seychelles-domiciled exchanges and services have bad or porous KYC.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles has released a cautionary statement against companies claiming to be affiliated or registered in the East African nation.

According to FSA, 53 virtual asset providers are neither registered or incorporated in Seychelles and have made false claims about their legality in the country. These entities have been found to be:

• Advertising and/or offering VASP activities
• Targeting Seychelles’ consumers with websites in the local language promoting the sale or exchange of cryptocurrencies or other VAs
• Holding promotional events providing payment options that supports the purchase of virtual assets using credit cards and debit cards with conversions within the local currency
• cCaiming to operate from or have their registered business address in the Seychelles

The listed virtual asset service providers are:

• ALLABOUTME  – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• AIVA – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• APOLLO FINTECH – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• BITCONFIRM – MINING
• BITCOIN SEYCHELLES – CHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• BITLADDIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER LIMITED
• BOOMCOIN (BOOMC) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• BTCEX – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• BUCKYCOIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• COINFARM CONCERTS – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• COINGAIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• CRYTOALLDAY – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
• CRDTPAY – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• EXBASEIO – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
• FOXCONN GLOBAL LTD – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• GOTRADE – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• HODLY – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
• HOTBIT.XYZ – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• IDCM – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• IP GOLD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• ITRUST GOVERNANCE TOKEN (ITG) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• KORPORATION BLOCKCHAIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• LIVECOIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• LOEX GLOBAL – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• MAJOR PRIME FX – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• MANGO EXCHANGE – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT
• MARKETMINE – MINING
• MEDABOTS – GAMING
• METALIFE – GAMING
• MINNERZONE – MINING
• MINPRZE – MINING
• MONIFEX – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• NEBOIT – MINING
• NEKO NETWORK (NEKO) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• OCG WALLET – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• OLYMTRADE – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• PIXEL SOFTWARE – MINING
• PORTION (PRT) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• PROFXCOIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• R3 HOLDINGS PRODUCT CO. LTD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• RXEL – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• SAFEPAL (SFP) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• SPECTROCOIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• STABLE ASSET (STA) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• STORX (SRX) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• TAMIUS WALLET – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
• TRIPLECOIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• TWNKLBUY – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• TXBIT.IO – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
• WAVE MAKERS LTD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
• VITCOIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• XCHANGERATE (XPR) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
• ZORIX – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER

According to the FSA, consumers are advised to remain cautious about the risks and potential financial loss and damage that can be incurred when dealing with VAs or VASPs which are either not registered or authorized as VASPs service providers under any law, especially the Seychelles laws.

“These businesses are not applying the controls required under the Seychelles Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism law, intended to detect, prevent and disrupt possible financial crimes,” FSA said in a press release.

“Furthermore these entities do not have in place control measures to protect customer funds and reduce the risk of their misuse.”

Seychelles, an archipelago of 155 islands situated in the Indian Ocean, southeast of mainland Eastern Africa, is the smallest African country. Due to its relaxed know-your-customer procedures, the African country has been a global haven for crypto businesses running away from strict regulations. According to a 2020 report, 72% of African-domiciled crypto assets exchanges and services are registered in the Seychelles and 70% of those Seychelles-domiciled exchanges and services have bad or porous KYC.

Seychelles has served as corporate headquarters of the world’s top crypto businesses including:

• Binance
• BitMEX
• KuCoin
• OKEx

The regulator says they are working on a legislative framework to regulate VASPs and VAs, with the expectation it will be finalized by early 2024.

In the meantime, the authorities, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, are undertaking close monitoring to prevent and detect any illegal and unauthorized activities to protect the interests of the consumers and the reputation of Seychelles.