Proof of Funds for Buying Property in Mauritius: What the Notary and Bank Require

No wire transfer and no cash payment goes through without paperwork: once a property purchase in Mauritius reaches Rs 500,000 — effectively every deal on the island — the notary drafting the deed and the bank receiving or lending the money must verify who is paying and where the money came from. The requirement comes from the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act (FIAMLA) and its 2018 regulations, enforced by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Mauritius.

Why the notary and the bank both ask

FIAMLA lists buying and selling real estate among the activities exposed to money laundering. Barristers, attorneys and notaries who prepare or carry out a property transaction for a client fall under the Act, supervised by the FIU, on the same footing as real estate agents. Both must run the same customer due diligence: verify the client’s identity from an independent, reliable document, and confirm that the money used has a lawful source. Mauritian banks apply the same framework, set out in the Bank of Mauritius’s anti-money laundering guideline.

The Rs 500,000 threshold that triggers the check

Identity and source-of-funds verification becomes mandatory as soon as a single transaction, or several linked transactions, reaches or exceeds Rs 500,000 — a threshold that in practice covers any property purchase. The same law bars a notary or agent from accepting a cash payment above that amount, including its equivalent in foreign currency: beyond it, payment has to go through a bank account.

What counts as proof of the source of funds

Neither FIAMLA nor its regulations set a single fixed list of documents. The notary and the bank must obtain independent, verifiable evidence, proportionate to the client’s profile and the size of the deal. In its guidelines for legal professionals, the FIU cites, as examples of evidence of source of funds, bank statements, deeds of gift and share transfer documents. For a purchase by a foreign buyer, this usually comes down to statements from the account the transfer originates from, proof of income or business activity (payslips, tax returns, a business registration extract for the self-employed), and, where the capital comes from a previous sale, an inheritance or a gift, the deed or document that records it.

The specific rule for foreign buyers financing from abroad

For a purchase under the Property Development Scheme (PDS), the Economic Development Board requires that a non-citizen’s money originate from abroad and be transferred to Mauritius through a bank licensed under the Banking Act, before being paid to the promoter: 85% of the price in Mauritian rupees, the remaining 15% in foreign currency or rupees. The buyer’s bank must issue a letter certifying it carried out its own KYC exercise, included in the file submitted to the EDB. Where the price exceeds USD 750,000 and a loan is taken out with a bank in Mauritius, the first USD 750,000 must be transferred and paid in rupees, with the balance financed by the loan and repaid in hard currency. Funds paid before the final deed is signed are held in an escrow account managed by the notary or by a bank.

The politically exposed person case

If the buyer, or one of the beneficial owners behind a company or trust, is or has been a political figure, a senior judge, a state-owned enterprise executive or a close associate of one of these, the notary and the bank must apply enhanced due diligence: senior management sign-off before the relationship starts, reasonable measures to establish not just the source of funds but the client’s broader source of wealth, and closer ongoing monitoring of the relationship. The same measures extend to family members and close associates of a politically exposed person.

What an incomplete file or a flagged transaction risks

Where a notary or bank cannot gather what enhanced due diligence requires, FIU guidance says the business relationship should end rather than continue on insufficient evidence, and a suspicious transaction report must be filed with the FIU within five working days of the suspicion arising. Failing to file is itself an offence under FIAMLA, punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 million and up to five years’ imprisonment. For the buyer, the practical consequence is simpler: without a complete file, the deed does not get signed and the transfer does not go through.

Getting the file ready before signing

Gathering the paperwork early avoids most of the delays seen on foreign buyers’ files: several months of statements from the source account, proof of income or of the asset sale that matches the amount being transferred, a valid identity document, and, for a purchase financed by a loan, whatever the Mauritian bank needs for its own credit file — see borrowing in Mauritius as a foreign buyer. The transfer has to leave an account in the name of the buyer named on the deed, pass through a licensed bank in Mauritius, then through the notary’s escrow account — the notary’s broader role is covered in the notary’s role in a property purchase in Mauritius. This check comes on top of the deed fees and registration duty covered in the real cost of buying property in Mauritius and registration duty and notary fees, and the general steps for a foreign buyer set out in buying property in Mauritius as a foreigner. For an international transfer, transferring money from Dubai to Mauritius covers the banking route to follow.

Frequently asked questions

Can a family gift count as proof of the source of funds?

Yes, provided it is documented: the notary and the bank will then ask for the deed of gift or a written statement from the donor, plus statements from the account the transfer comes from, to confirm that the donor’s own money has a lawful origin.

Does the check change if the purchase is made through a company or a trust?

The check then shifts to the beneficial owners: the notary has to identify the individuals who actually own or control the buying company, trust or foundation, and verify the source of funds at their level, not just at the level of the entity.

Does this check delay signing the deed?

A complete file from the start does not delay signing. The delays that do happen almost always come from missing paperwork or a transfer that does not come from the account matching the buyer’s identity on the deed.

Sources and verification

• Financial Intelligence Unit Mauritius — guidelines for legal professionals (barristers, attorneys, notaries)
• Financial Intelligence Unit Mauritius — guidelines for the real estate sector
• Bank of Mauritius — guideline on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism
• Economic Development Board — Property Development Scheme guidelines