The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering has removed the Cook Islands, Indonesia and the Philippines from the list of Non Co-operative Countries & Territories. The decision was made at plenary meeting in Paris from February 9 to 11, taking into account the observation and findings obtained in recent on-site visits.

The countries now have anti-money laundering systems, including strict customer identification, suspicious transaction reporting, bank examinations, and legal capacities to investigate and prosecute money laundering.

Financial intelligence units are also developed to analyse financial data, co-ordinate national efforts and facilitate international co-operation. The visits confirmed anti-money laundering measures have been effectively implemented to remedy deficiencies previously identified. The Task Force will continue to monitor the implementation of the measures to ensure that they sustain their recent commitments and progress.

The Non Co-operative Countries & Territories exercise aims to identify jurisdictions with deficient anti-money laundering systems and encourage rectification. The current list includes Myanmar, Nauru and Nigeria.

Hong Kong has acted as the principal contact for Indonesia in the review exercise since 2000, and was one of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering delegates who visited the country and the Philippines in January.