Frequently asked questions

Our focus is corporate and commercial law, with financial services and capital markets at its core, backed by litigation and arbitration. We advise across eleven areas of practice. For more details, see our services page.

Contact us through our contact page or at shaheena@scarrimlegal.com. We will contact you promptly to arrange an in-person or virtual appointment.

SC Legal uses a flexible fee structure, offering both fixed-fee pricing and time-based billing depending on the specific nature and complexity of your legal assignment.

Bring all relevant legal documents and your identification to your first meeting at SC Legal.

Yes. At SC Legal, every client works directly with a qualified lawyer. We prioritise personalised service: you will have a named lead counsel who handles your matter from start to finish, ensuring consistency and direct access to senior legal expertise.

We are located at 410 Balfour MU, J.F. Trotter Street, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill 71507. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm.

Yes. We advise licence applicants, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), token issuers and their investors under the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021 (the VAITOS Act), which is administered by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Our work covers the full licensing lifecycle, from scoping the licence class and preparing the application to ongoing compliance. Read our complete guide to the VAITOS Act 2021 or see our virtual assets practice.

Yes, if you carry on virtual asset business in or from Mauritius. Anyone who exchanges, transfers, safekeeps or administers virtual assets, operates a virtual asset trading platform, or provides financial services connected with an issuer's offer or sale of virtual assets must hold the relevant VASP licence. A Mauritius company serving only foreign clients is within scope. The Act also regulates by function rather than label, so staking, swaps, lending and other DeFi activity are not outside it merely because no person intermediates each transaction.

The VAITOS Act sets five classes: Class M (Virtual Asset Broker-Dealer), Class O (Virtual Asset Wallet Services), Class R (Virtual Asset Custodian), Class I (Virtual Asset Advisory Services) and Class S (Virtual Asset Market Place). An applicant may hold several, subject to FSC approval and combined capital requirements. Choosing the right class is the most consequential decision in an application. For example, operating a venue that matches third-party buyers and sellers is a market place (Class S), while safekeeping assets and holding private keys is custody (Class R). We scope the right class or classes with you before you apply.

Operating as a VASP in or from Mauritius without a licence is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to MUR 5 million and up to 10 years' imprisonment. Beyond criminal liability, the FSC may issue remediation directions, impose licence conditions, suspend or revoke a licence, and refer matters for prosecution.

An ITO is an offer to the public of a virtual token in exchange for fiat currency or another virtual asset. Only a company incorporated in Mauritius may issue one, it must be registered with the FSC before any public offer, and a compliant white paper is mandatory. Every member of the issuer's governing body must sign the white paper, which fixes personal accountability for its contents. If the token is in substance a security, the offer falls under the Securities Act 2005 instead of ITO registration.

Classification is functional: what matters is the rights attached to the token, not its label. A token carrying rights characteristic of a security (equity, debt, profit participation or collective investment) is a security token under the Securities Act 2005. A digital representation of value without those rights is a virtual asset under the VAITOS Act. Calling something a "utility token" does not take it outside the Securities Act 2005 if it functions as an investment. Classification drives the licence you need, the offer document regime, investor protection rights and the marketing rules, so it comes before structuring. We give classification opinions, including for hybrid, asset-backed and Shariah-compliant structures.

VASPs and ITO issuers are reporting persons under the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002. Core duties include customer due diligence, appointing a money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) and deputy, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit, record-keeping, an independent AML/CFT audit and travel-rule compliance. Under the travel rule, every transfer of virtual assets must carry originator and beneficiary information, with no minimum threshold. We help build AML/CFT frameworks and provide independent audit support.

No. A Mauritius VASP licence does not passport into other jurisdictions. If you serve clients elsewhere, you must reconcile the VAITOS framework with each target market, including the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), and manage travel-rule interoperability, substance and beneficial ownership differences. None of this is a reason to avoid Mauritius, which is a practical base for virtual asset businesses serving Africa and Asia, but each is a reason to structure deliberately from the outset. We advise on cross-border structuring through Mauritius.

Yes. Our family law practice covers divorce, custody, alimony, property division and domestic violence cases, and we advise on marital and custody matters more broadly. We regularly appear before the family division of the Supreme Court. You work directly with a qualified lawyer, in person or by video call, who handles your matter from start to finish. To discuss your situation, contact us or see our family law page.

Yes. Custody and alimony are part of our family law work, alongside divorce and property division. Our founder, Shaheena Carrim, has acted in divorce and custody cases, including an appeal against a decision granting custody of a child under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Act. You can read more in her profile.

Yes. We advise on marital matters, including pre-nuptial agreements, and on succession planning. Contact us to discuss what you need.

Yes. We represent clients in domestic violence cases as part of our family law practice. You can reach us on +230 5255 2410 or +230 455 3876, or at shaheena@scarrimlegal.com, and you will work directly with a qualified lawyer.

Yes. We advise on all corporate matters across sectors, from incorporation and constitutional documents to corporate governance, directors' duties, shareholder disputes and winding up. We also advise on the migration of companies to and from Mauritius. See our corporate and commercial practice.

A VCC, introduced by the Variable Capital Companies Act 2022, lets multiple funds with different strategies, investor classes and risk profiles coexist within a single legal entity. It can issue and redeem shares freely, so it suits both open-ended and closed-ended funds. Sub-funds and special purpose vehicles can elect separate legal personality, which ring-fences the assets and liabilities of each. It is aimed at fund managers, institutional investors, family offices, and real estate and private equity promoters. Read our article on variable capital companies.

Yes. We advise funds, licensed entities, sponsors and investors on fund formation, structuring and capital raising, and we prepare licence applications for funds and licensees, private placement and offer documents, and bond issues. We act as legal adviser on listings on the Official Market and the DEM of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. See our capital markets and financial services practice.

Yes. We act for buyers, sellers, investors, boards and lenders on share and asset acquisitions and disposals, takeovers, amalgamations, demergers and group reorganisations. We run the transaction from start to finish: structuring, legal due diligence, regulatory approvals, negotiation and drafting of term sheets, purchase agreements, shareholders' agreements and disclosure letters, through to completion. See our mergers and acquisitions practice.

Yes. We provide tax and structuring advice and representation, locally and on cross-border matters, including double taxation treaties. We advise on the arm's length test for related party transactions and on transfer pricing, and we represent clients in tax cases at different levels. See our taxation practice.

Yes. We act for clients before all courts, tribunals and specialised bodies in the areas of law we practise, from pre-trial negotiations to the enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards. We regularly appear before the commercial, civil, family and land divisions of the Supreme Court, and we act in domestic and international arbitration seated in Mauritius under the International Arbitration Act 2008. See our dispute resolution practice.

Yes. We advise employers and employees on the full life cycle of employment, including employment contracts, disciplinary procedures, dismissal, redundancies (including before the Redundancy Board), compromise agreements, and work and residence permits for foreign nationals. We appear before the Industrial Court and the Employment Relations Tribunal. See our employment law practice.

Yes. Shaheena Carrim is a licensed Insolvency Practitioner under the Insolvency Act 2009. She accepts appointments as liquidator in voluntary and court-ordered winding up, as administrator, and as receiver or receiver-manager. The firm also advises boards, creditors, secured lenders, shareholders and office-holders on restructurings and insolvency, and acts in contested winding-up petitions. See our insolvency and restructuring practice.

Yes. We advise on landlord and tenant relationships and leases, the structuring of real estate acquisitions and disposals, and projects under the Property Development Scheme. We also provide ongoing advice to developers, owners and managers, and advise on land use, planning and environmental compliance. See our real estate and property practice.