Comoros Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Comorian Business

TL;DR. Comoros has no functional public online business registry. The Agence Nationale pour la Promotion des Investissements (ANPI) at anpi-comores.com handles some investment promotion functions, but certified company extracts require in-person access in Moroni. Comoros also operates an economic citizenship program (and historically has operated offshore financial structures through Anjouan), raising specific beneficial ownership and financial crime concerns for foreign compliance buyers. Comoros was on the FATF grey list until 2024.

Who searches for Comorian company information, and why it’s hard

The Union of the Comoros is a small Indian Ocean island state of fewer than 900,000 people, comprising three main islands (Grande Comore, Anjouan, Moheli) plus Mayotte (a French overseas territory). Its economy is one of the most fragile in the world, dependent on remittances, subsistence agriculture, and vanilla exports. Foreign engagement with Comorian entities is limited and typically involves development finance institutions, Indian Ocean regional traders, and occasionally investors in the economic citizenship program.

The compliance challenge is multilayered: a weak physical registry, a history of offshore financial structures (particularly on Anjouan, which has at times operated its own quasi-independent financial licensing regime), an economic citizenship-by-investment program that raises correspondent banking compliance questions, and a FATF grey-listing that remained until 2024. Registry access is difficult even in-person.

Registry at a glance

Name: Registre du Commerce et de l’Industrie (RCI), the Register of Commerce and Industry.

Operator: The Ministere des Finances coordinates commercial registration. The Agence Nationale pour la Promotion des Investissements (ANPI) is the investment promotion and business registration facilitation body.

URL: www.anpi-comores.com [VERIFY: ANPI portal operational status and whether any public company search functionality exists as of 2026-05-17. The portal primarily appears to serve investment promotion purposes; a searchable company register has not been confirmed as publicly accessible.]

What is covered: Commercial entities registered under Comorian company law: SARL (societe a responsabilite limitee), SA (societe anonyme), and sole traders. The legal framework draws from French company law tradition (Comoros was a French territory). Branches of foreign companies may also be registered.

Access model: Physical access only at ANPI offices in Moroni (Grande Comore). There is no publicly searchable online registry for Comorian companies. Certified extracts require in-person application or engagement of a local agent.

Honesty note: Public company information is not reliably accessible through any online channel for Comoros. Compliance buyers should plan for in-country assistance for any meaningful company verification and apply enhanced due diligence given the jurisdiction’s risk profile.

How to search

Step 1: Engage an in-country agent. Identify a Moroni-based commercial lawyer or ANPI-registered agent. The Moroni bar association or ANPI itself may be able to provide referrals. Regional Indian Ocean law firms (Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion-based) sometimes have Comoros correspondents.

Step 2: Provide company identifiers. Give your agent the company name and any registration number or tax identifier provided by your counterparty.

Step 3: ANPI application. Your agent files an application at the ANPI Moroni office. The extract request typically includes the company’s registered name and is processed by ANPI staff. Processing times vary: 5-15 business days is typical, but this can extend.

Step 4: Island-specific considerations. Companies registered on Anjouan or Moheli may have separate registration records at local administrative offices. Anjouan historically operated a separate financial licensing regime (the “Anjouan Offshore Finance Centre”), which was the subject of international concern. [VERIFY: Current status of Anjouan offshore financial structures as of 2026-05-17. As of the late 2010s, this regime was considerably curtailed, but residual structures may remain.]

Step 5: Economic citizenship verification. If the counterparty’s principal is a Comorian national by investment (economic citizenship), verify that the citizenship was issued under the legitimate federal program and screen the individual via commercial PEP/sanctions databases.

What you can find

When obtainable from ANPI, a Comorian company extract may include:

• Company name and trade name
• Registration number (RCI number)
• Legal form (SARL, SA, sole trader)
• Status: active or dissolved (currency of data uncertain)
• Registered address (siege social)
• Date of incorporation
• Business activity (activite commerciale)
• Share capital in KMF (Comorian franc)
• Director name(s)
• Shareholder/partner names (for SARL)

Data completeness is variable, particularly for older entities or those registered outside Moroni.

What is missing

• Beneficial ownership: No public UBO registry in Comoros. This is a primary concern given the jurisdiction’s offshore history.
• Financial statements: Not publicly available.
• Anjouan offshore entities: Historical offshore-licensed entities from Anjouan may not appear in the Moroni ANPI register. These require separate investigation.
• Litigation records: Not available via the registry.
• Economic citizenship holder details: The identities of economic citizenship program investors are not publicly disclosed by the Comorian government.

Pricing

Exchange rate reference: KMF/USD approximately 460:1 (May 2026, approximate; KMF pegged to EUR). Verify at Banque Centrale des Comores (banque-comores.km) before any transaction.

English availability and practical access

There is no English interface on any Comorian government or ANPI portal. The administrative languages are French and Arabic, with Comorian (Shikomori) as the national language. French is dominant in formal business documentation. Foreign buyers require French-speaking agents.

The limited international connectivity to Comoros (primarily through Moroni) and the small scale of the local professional services market means that identifying qualified local agents may take time. Plan for extended lead times.

Alternatives when the registry is limited

• In-country legal counsel: The primary route for any Comorian company verification.
• Banque Centrale des Comores (BCC): banque-comores.km for financial sector licensing. The BCC has worked to improve banking sector oversight following historical concerns.
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF): Comoros was removed from the FATF grey list in 2024 following implementation of its action plan. The historical MER and follow-up documentation provide context on specific AML/CFT weaknesses addressed.
• ESAAMLG: The Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group covers Comoros and publishes mutual evaluation reports.
• OECD Global Forum: Comoros’s tax transparency commitments (automatic information exchange, Common Reporting Standard) are relevant for offshore-related due diligence.
• Open Ownership: Comoros has not published a public beneficial ownership register as of mid-2026.

Compliance buyer notes

Comoros was removed from the FATF grey list in 2024 after completing its action plan, which is a positive development. However, structural risks remain:

• Offshore jurisdiction history: Comoros, particularly Anjouan, was associated with offshore financial structures, flag-of-convenience ship registrations, and economic citizenship programs that attracted international concern in the 2000s-2010s. While many of these regimes have been curtailed or reformed, residual structures may exist. Any counterparty claiming Comorian offshore licensing should be treated with heightened scepticism and require specific verification.
• Economic citizenship program: Comoros operates an economic citizenship-by-investment program. This is legal and internationally recognised, but means that Comorian nationals may have obtained citizenship through investment rather than birth or residence. The program has attracted clients from diverse nationalities. For compliance purposes, the underlying beneficial owner’s nationality (not the Comorian citizenship) may be the relevant risk factor.
• Correspondent banking: International banks maintaining Comorian correspondent relationships apply enhanced monitoring. Correspondent bank account access for Comorian entities may be restricted due to historical de-risking.
• PEP risk: Given the small size of the Comorian political economy, political exposure risk is elevated. Cross-check directors and major shareholders against PEP databases with Indian Ocean and African political coverage.
• Post-grey-list compliance: The FATF grey-list removal does not mean Comoros’s AML/CFT framework is fully effective. It means the technical compliance action plan was completed. Effectiveness ratings may still have weaknesses. Apply standard EDD for any Comorian counterparty until the jurisdiction’s effectiveness ratings improve in the next full MER cycle.
• OFAC: Comoros is not under a complete OFAC country sanctions program. Individual screening remains required.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: ANPI Comoros (anpi-comores.com); Banque Centrale des Comores (banque-comores.km); FATF Comoros grey-list removal documentation (fatf-gafi.org); ESAAMLG assessments; African Development Bank Comoros country page (afdb.org).