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GAPS IN THE MONITORING of suspicious transactions carried out and channeled through Informal businesses and legal entities have yet to be addressed, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said in a report.
From 2015 to 2019, the value involved in 87,190 suspicious transaction reports involving commercial entities and legal entities reached P52,328 billion, according to a study conducted by the watchdog.
“The overall risk of money laundering legal persons and commercial entities is medium high, which requires collective strategic mitigation actions that can be implemented in the short to medium term,” the AMLC said in a report published Tuesday.
The study found that P4.6 billion or about 95% of the assets frozen in the sample cases involved cases related to corruption, e-commerce violations, and illegal drugs.
He noted that cash-intensive industries run the risk of becoming avenues for “dirty money” activities by criminals in order to conceal the nature of their funds.
“Given the anonymous nature of the cash, authorities face difficulties in tracing the link between the funds and criminal activities,” AMLC said.
Almost half (49%) of the suspicious transaction reports used in the study involved cash deposits.
The watchdog said they observed a trend that criminals are using businesses such as wholesale or retail to move illegal funds that will be mixed with legitimate income.
He said some cases involved companies set up by fictitious Filipinos backed by foreign nationals who have control and ownership of the to berms.
The majority or 95% of suspicious transaction reports were submitted by banks, followed by credit card companies (1.11%), while those from money issuers increased to 1,148 from 2017 to 2019 from no. have reports in the previous two years.
On the other hand, the reports presented by insurance and financial companies and investment houses only represented 0.12% and 1.24%, respectively, of the total.
“Based on the sample of suspicious transaction reports, there is a low threat involving the insurance sector, while there appears to be a low-medium threat regarding the use of financial companies and investment houses by entities suspected of being involved in illegal transactions, ”the AMLC said.
On Sunday, the AMLC issued implementing rules and regulations following the signing of Republic Law 11521 on Friday that strengthened the country’s anti-money laundering and terrorism measures.
This surpassed the February 1 deadline given by the Financial Action Task Force for the Philippines to address the gaps in its fight against money laundering and terrorism. to befinancing measures. – LWT Noble
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