Financial Crime World

Title: Cook Islands Face Challenges in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing - APG Report

The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), an international organization dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, has released a new report assessing the Cook Islands’ progress in these areas. The following discussion highlights the report’s key findings and recommendations.

Background

The newly adopted APG Mutual Evaluation Report (July 2018) offers valuable insights into the Cook Islands’ financial crime prevention framework and its strengths and weaknesses.

Key Findings

  1. ML/TF Risk Assessment

    • The Cook Islands have made significant strides in identifying and assessing their ML/TF risks, leading to legislative reforms and increased awareness.
    • However, there is room for improvement in addressing risks related to domestic offenses and capacity issues within competent authorities.

  2. Financial Intelligance Unit (FIU)

    • The FIU provides quality financial intelligence to law enforcement agencies (LEAs), but limited use has been made to investigate ML/TF or predicate offenses.
    • The FIU has obtained investigative powers but has not pursued them effectively.

  3. Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)

    • The volume of STRs is reasonable, but there is a lack of feedback to reporting institutions (RIs) and LEAs regarding these reports.
    • Not all reporting institutions were able to report electronically, limiting strategic analysis.

  4. Terrorist Financing (TF)

    • The Cook Islands have a low risk for TF and a reasonable legal framework.
    • No investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of TF crimes have been reported.

  5. AML/CFT Vulnerabilities

    • Limitations in enforcement of confiscation, investigation and prosecution of ML and proceeds of crime.
    • Insufficient focus on cybercrime threats and risks within competent authorities.

Recommendations

The APG report recommends the following measures to address the identified vulnerabilities:

  • Strengthening the use of Financial Intelligence
  • Improving co-operation between agencies
  • Focusing on High-Risk Areas
    • Domestic offenses
    • Cybercrime threats

Conclusion

The report offers invaluable insights for the Cook Islands in strengthening their AML/CFT regime. To learn more about the APG and the report, visit their website at www.apgml.org.