Former Cooks minister downplays Panama Papers importance

Transcript

A former Government minister and opposition leader in the Cook Islands says the Panama Papers leaks don't damage his country's reputation.

Wilkie Rasmussen, a lawyer, says the Cook Islands is in full compliance with international law regarding the establishment of overseas trusts.

He says New Zealand is more implicated regarding foreign trusts used for hiding away wealth while the Cook Islands is used more for asset protection.

He spoke to Alex Perrottet

WILKIE RASMUSSEN: For some time now the Cook Islands in full compliance to the rules and regulations of that sort of industry, so, I note that the New Zealand government for example has been pointed out and perhaps having slacken off a little bit in its keeping an eye on ways people who reside overseas and who can park their investments somewhere in New Zealand and avoid taxes in their home country.  I think in the Cook Islands the trend and the growth is more an asset protection than money because money put into trust here, because there are no longer anymore offshore banks and it's a very, very small industry in the Cook Islands.

ALEX PERROTTET:  There's been incidents in the past 10-15 years where people have set up trusts in the Cook Islands, some have found themselves in trouble in the US for setting up ponzi schemes and deliberately defrauded people millions of dollars and around the same time they have been found to set up international trusts in the Cook Islands.  Have the laws in the Cook Islands responded to those incidents?

WR: Yes, look absolutely, I think that it's debatable as to what was alleged initially about the Cook Islands I would say is that maybe about 10 years ago the Cook Islands complied to all the restrictions that were placed upon countries like the Cook Islands who were sort of delving into that sort of industry.

AP: I mean, I think it's around eight percent of about 300-million in the Cooks economy that is generated by these trusts, the registration fees, taxes on the companies.  What sort of people in the Cook Islands benefit from that?

WR: Well, employment for one, it use to be a lot of young professionals of Cook Islands origin or even from overseas use to come here and work a few years in that industry and they train here and get sent overseas, so there are trickle down effects in terms of employment.  I know that a number of lawyers or people who work in the trusts industry in the past have said that the Cook Islands have fallen behind in terms of being competitive with other countries, like neighbouring Pacific Islands countries like Samoa.  And I think the Cook Islands is poised now to review where they are, and to ask the question whether it's still a viable industry in terms of sustainability here.