FiveComply

CHANTAL SENTERRE

Seychelles Office Manager

All about Seychelles: An interview by FiveComply’s Seychelles Office Manager Mrs. Chantal Senterre

Q Congratulations on your recent approval as an Outsourced Service Provider by the Financial Services Authority, and on your appointment as the Seychelles Office Manager of FiveComply. Can you give the readers an outline of your career?

I first joined the Seychelles Financial Services Industry in 2010 and my first position was as a Corporate Administrator for an International Corporate Service Provider. I quickly developed a passion for the industry, as it was the first time that I felt I had found a field that allowed me to effectively combine all my skills and interests, whilst also finding new avenues to continuously grow and learn. That passion, and the support of my family and fellow colleagues in the industry, have been what has fueled my journey up to this point.

Throughout my career, I have occupied various positions in several companies, from Administration to Compliance, and from junior to managerial roles. This has given me the unique opportunity to get the full picture of the industry, the regulators, products, and companies in all aspects, which has allowed me to understand how everything comes together from all perspectives. I believe that this is what has allowed me to become effective in my role as a Compliance Officer, and enables me to add value to each client’s business.

I also enrolled in professional courses as soon as I joined the industry, and I continue to study up to this day, therefore, I would also attribute my success in the industry to my continued professional learning. I strongly believe that training, and the pursuit of acquiring the relevant professional qualifications in different areas is a vital part of the equation, especially for a young, emerging market like the Seychelles and so far, I have certifications from the ICSA, ICA and CISI, and I also recently became a registered Member (MCSI) of CISI. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has always put a lot of emphasis on training and professional development, and I have observed that they have been encouraging and promoting this more in the recent months, especially through their collaboration with CISI and through the FSA’s Scholars Award Program. I see this as a very good initiative and encourage others to take advantage of the opportunity to join the industry, so that we can build the workforce, which will allow us to take the jurisdiction to new heights.

Q Based on your experience in the industry, how do you believe you and FiveComply can add value to the Licensed Seychelles brokers?

I believe that the collaboration between FiveComply and myself has been a match that will greatly benefit both our existing and future clients/brokers. That is because, comparable to me, all members of the FiveComply team have an array of knowledge, skills, and experience in various fields within the financial sector, including legal, finance, regulation, foreign exchange, administration, and compliance, just to name a few. As a result, our clients get access to a collective pool of information and expertise in all areas of their business, from the pre-application stage, all the way up to post-license, and throughout the existence of their companies.

The expansion of FiveComply in Seychelles means that the Company is now able to further improve its services and possibly increase the scope in the future. It also means that the Company can now accommodate more clients, and cover more time-zones, to allow us to be more accessible to our clients as and when they may need our assistance. FiveComply has specialized in the Seychelles jurisdiction for the past 5 years, however, having also local presence in Seychelles has aided in bridging the gap between the team in Cyprus and the Seychelles, facilitating communication with various service providers and regulatory bodies, which has greatly improved on the turnaround time, and consequently made all processes more effective and efficient.

I would say that, the combination of FiveComply’s knowledge and expertise on different sectors and jurisdictions of the industry (as they have been doing licensing and compliance support in various jurisdiction on an international level) including Seychelles, along with my specialization in the Seychelles can enhance the compliance support and operations of the client and achieve utmost efficiency.

Q Why are more brokers deciding to acquire a Seychelles License? What are the benefits?

First and foremost, I think that even though Seychelles is a small market in comparison to other jurisdictions, we are still a reputable jurisdiction that offers credible licenses. There have also been, and continue to be, significant improvements in the law governing the financial services sector, and this has been recognized by international organizations such as the European Union, who recently removed Seychelles from its official blacklist of tax havens.

Secondly, I believe that the cost of doing business in Seychelles still remains relatively low and the requirements, such as a minimum share capital of USD 50,000 and having only 2 Directors that can also occupy multiple roles in the Company, remain reasonable, which keeps the jurisdiction attractive for investors. The decision of the FSA to maintain the current Outsourced Service Provider arrangement for Compliance roles will also continue to benefit brokers seeking a Securities Dealer License, and this ensures that they have access to reliable and qualified Compliance Officers, who are well-versed in the relevant regulations, to occupy the positions in the Seychelles, which will save on the cost and time of having to relocate a Compliance Officer from their respective jurisdictions. This is one of the services that FiveComply does offer to its clients.

Moreover, despite the constraints and restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, business services in the Seychelles were not severely disrupted, and most offices and service providers are up and running effectively, even if not at full capacity. The FSA also continues to implement their business continuity plan, which means that licenses are still being processed in a timely manner.

Over the past two years, we have also observed a significant improvement in the services being offered by the FSA, and even more so, in the past few months. This means that applications are being processed more rapidly, and responses to queries are being addressed in a reasonable timeframe, so our clients are able to get regular updates with regards to their application, which prevents unnecessary frustration.

Q What advice would you give brokers who would like to acquire a Seychelles License?

From my experience, and from discussions with colleagues from other jurisdictions, it has been observed that the Seychelles regulator is one of the most cooperative, approachable, and transparent, and I believe that clients and investors should use this to their advantage.

The Capital Markets sector is a young industry in the Seychelles, and that means that there is a lot of untapped potential and opportunities for growth. Clients and investors have the unique opportunity to have a voice and to help

mold the industry into a competitive and reputable market. They can also propose new products to the regulators and contribute toward the development of the legislations that will regulate these products. At FiveComply, we believe in being an active participant in the industry and to use our expertise and experience to contribute positively towards it, and we also encourage our clients to do the same. We believe that transparency and open communication between all parties and stakeholders will help the industry thrive and create endless possibilities for growth.

Lastly, what I suggest to our clients is to always ensure that all documents and information, especially CDD/ KYC, are up to date and readily available at every stage, whether that be in the pre-application phase, or after licensing. I have found over the years that when it comes to this, especially with the more stringent compliance regulations being implemented globally, it is best to apply the principle of “It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”.

Q What are some upcoming trends and changes in the regulatory environment in Seychelles?

I would say, the thing to keep an eye on is Virtual Assets/Cryptocurrency, and on how the regulators will decide to proceed with regards to this. The FSA recently conducted a National Risk Assessment on Virtual Assets and Virtual Assets Services Providers as a first step to collecting information required to open the discussion and start consulting the industry to determine if this is a product that can be a viable addition to the Seychelles Capital Markets Sector. FiveComply hopes to be able to contribute towards the discussions and to also bring our expertise from the team in Cyprus to assist the regulators with this process.

Another item on the agenda would have to be the Substantial Activity Requirements. Despite the fact that this was introduced in the regulation in 2018, it seems that the regulators will be placing particular emphasis on this in the coming months to ensure that Companies are fulfilling the requirements to achieve substance in order to benefit from the preferential tax rates. FiveComply has already started providing its clients with support and information with regards to this and will continue to do so going forward. We also hope to enter into discussions with the regulators to further understand the practical application of the regulation, the implication for licensees, and also the process involved in assessing whether substance is being achieved/maintained.

The enactment of the Financial Consumer Protection Act (FCPA), 2022 also opens the floor to discussions about investor protection and has introduced a new bi-annual report which licensees will need to submit to the FSA annually by the 15th of July, however, it is important to note that the FSA has granted a transition period of 6 months, therefore, making the first report due by the 15th of January 2023.

Q What are the future plans of FiveComply in Seychelles?

As a new member of the FiveComply team, I can honestly say that I am excited for the future of the Company. I believe in the team, the services we offer and, on the integrity and professionalism of our work. Going forward, I believe we will continue to provide quality professional services to our existing and future clients. We also hope to grow the team, to increase the scope of the services we offer, and to accommodate more clients. As I have a background in teaching and education, I hope to be able to harness those skills and the support of my team, to train more people and encourage them to join the industry, as I believe that although we are small, we can be impactful on the global stage.

Another one of our goals is to maintain and grow our presence on social media, to become more accessible to both our clients, and others who may find our services or the information we provide to be beneficial.

Finally, we hope to become more proactive and to be a voice that can positively impact the Seychelles Financial sector. We hope to have more tête-a-tête and open forum discussions with the regulators and other stakeholders to contribute towards any changes or further improvements in the law and processes relating to the sector and the licensing and ongoing monitoring of licensees.

Q How can people reach you to speak more about FiveComply and the services it offers in Seychelles?

We will be more than happy to provide readers with any additional information about our Company and services, and they can contact us by sending us an email on info@fivecomply.com , by visiting our website at fivecomply.com or by calling us on +357 25 58 19 05. Readers can also interact with us on FiveComply’s LinkedIn and on Instagram @5comply. We usually also arrange calls or face-to-face meetings based on each client’s needs and location.

Understanding and supporting each client is for us of paramount importance; our primary goal is to assist every client in the best way possible and the only way to do this is by taking into consideration each client’s circumstances, business model, group / company structure and various other factors that need to be considered prior to being able to provide tailoredmade advice / consulting.

I would like to end by thanking Game Changers for featuring FiveComply in this issue, the FiveComply team for their continuous support, and to the Founder, Gabriel, for seeing the potential in Seychelles and for deciding to push our jurisdiction forward.