The Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC, for its acronym in English) issued a second note of guidance on the regulation of offers of value tokens (STO).
In the document, the FSC stated that the value tokens are considered to be digitally represented values, as defined in the Securities Act of 2005. As a consequence, when STOs are made in or from Mauritius, the offer is regulated by the rules of local security, including the requirement of a prospectus.
The important points
The regulator also points out that, although an STO can not be carried out without its prior approval, there are exceptions for when a token issuer needs authorization. These exceptions include offers for sophisticated investors, expert investors, expert funds, collective-professional investment plans and specialized collective investment schemes.
The FSC also stresses that conducting financial services without a license is a criminal offense and warns investors about the high-risk nature of STOs. The document indicates that investments in STO are not protected by any legal compensation agreement in the country.
Finally, the regulator points out that “it continues to be a great support for initiatives related to Fintech in Mauritius”.
About the document
The document comes after a first note of orientation of the regulator, issued in September 2018, on the cryptocurrency as an asset class.
Last month, the Hong Kong securities regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, also issued an official guide on STOs.