The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) came into existence in the Cook Islands on 1 July 2003, replacing the former Off-shore Financial Services Commission. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) merged with the FSC on 1 July 2012.
The vision of the FSC is:
To be a financial regulator that is committed to excellence,
integrity and supportive of growth and development of
the Cook Islands financial services centre.
The mission statement of the FSC is:
To oversee an effective and efficient prudential and investigative supervision
regime applying risk-based, and intelligence-led, policies in line with
internationally accepted best practice.
The FSC:
* Is an independent body responsible for the supervision of regulated financial entities and financial services in the Cook Islands;
* Comprises the Board, the Commissioner, the Head of the FIU and its staff, supervisory staff and the Registrar of International Companies and International Trusts;
* Is the licensing authority for all financial institutions being banks, insurers (including captives), money-changing and remittance businesses and trustee companies;
* Operates the Registry of International & Foreign Companies, Limited Liability Companies, International Trusts, International Partnerships and Foundations.
The FIU function is to facilitate the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other serious offences in the Cook Islands.