The bill was tabled in Parliament by Justice Minister Vaine Mac Mokoroa, who said he too was kept out of the loop.

The growing concern over the dealings Cook Islands has in the cryptocurrency bill before parliament allegedly could be used to hack into systems around the world.

A high-value debt collector, Drumcliffe, who specialises in international asset seizure, hired at least two Cook Islands-based lawyers to draft the Tainted Cryptocurrency Recovery Bill 2023. However, industry members say there was a lack of consultation as this bill was drafted, leaving them very concerned

Citing its potential far-reaching consequences, stakeholders have also urged them to halt the bill’s progression.

“Before this bill was tabled in Parliament, I was not consulted with at all, until about three or four days before the tabling,” Mokoroa said.

“By then, what am I going to understand? I did not know anything about this bill at all.”

Several industry members and experts have expressed their concern to him, and that it can be used to hack into systems around the world and damage the country’s reputation.

Mokoroa also stated that there are a lot of the parts of the bill that are reason for concern and debate. He also says that local companies in the off-shore banking sector are very worried, as they have told him that the bill directly affects their industry.

Paui Wichman, the Ora Trust Partners founder and Chief Executive, is hoping that the bill is withdrawn.

“There are constitutional issues like whether Cook Islanders are safeguarded from being hacked under this bill and losing rights to justice, Wichman said.

“The [risk] list just goes on, there is so much wrong with this bill, we do not see any benefits.”

However in the opposing end of the spectrum, Tim Arnold, who drafted the Tainted Cryptocurrency Recovery Bill, says that he would not have gotten involved if he did not believe that it would benefit the Cook Islands.

“There has been a great deal of misinformation on what the bill is and is not. I certainly believe that the bill does very much have a future as one of the tools to deal with the global problem, transnational crime.” He says.

“The Cook Islands stands to benefit in a number of ways.”

Arnold has been drafting the legislation over a period of 40 years and is defending it due to how necessary it is in combating transactional crime, particularly in the realm of cryptocurrencies, which he described as challenging to trace and link to illicit activities.

He also says that for every $100.00 seized off victims globally, only $1 is returned and better processes need to be made.

“This bill is aimed at…only cryptocurrencies that have been used for serious crime.”

“The reason it has come to the Cook Islands is that there is a private sector actor that has the resources and capability to track and trace crypto and seize it.”

He emphasised the bill’s potential benefits for the Cook Islands in contributing to global efforts against cyber-crime, citing its role as an information hub and safe storage site for seized assets pending legal proceedings.

In the face of public outcry for the Bill to be withdrawn, Prime Minister Mark Brown says that he is confident that whatever law they end up with will be keeping with the constitution and laws and will be aligned with other international agencies and countries fighting cyber-crime.

A spokesperson said that the Cook islands government is aware of the numerous concerns raised and solutions have also been posed.

However, in direct conflict to this, the Fiji government has reiterated that Cryptocurrency is not considered a legal tender and its processes are considered illegal in Fiji.