On 18 August 2000 the Cook Islands Parliament enacted the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2000 ("the Act"). The passing of the Act sends a strong message to the rest of the world that the Cook Islands remains committed to the global war against money laundering and will not allow the jurisdiction to be abused by money launderers, fraudsters or other such criminals.
As many offshore financial centres have relatively strict privacy laws, there is the perception that these laws may be abused to play host to money launderers. The Cook Islands Government and its offshore industry have always been alert to that possibility and has a history of being proactive in enacting laws and requiring procedures designed to discourage such business.
