Cook Islands PM Seeks To Reassure FATF Over Money Laundering Laws
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Robert Woonton announced recently that
he hopes forthcoming meetings with officials from the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) will convince the multilateral body to remove the jurisdiction
from its list of countries considered vulnerable to money laundering activity. According to ABC News, Mr Woonton explained that he will be offering the FATF
assurances that the Cook Islands will be able to comply with international anti-money
laundering requirements, following the introduction of a rash of new legislation
in 2003. Nine new bills were presented before the jurisdiction's parliament
in June alone. The bills, containing proposals put forward by the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter
Financing Terrorism Committee, were compiled following a technical assistance
visit from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team earlier last year, and
included a Financial Transactions Reporting Act, which requires the reporting
of local and international money transfers to a central intelligence unit. Additionally, the new rules require disclosure of the capital adequacy of offshore
firms and on-site inspections. .
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