Money Laundering defined. 3.

Securities or negotiable
instruments, bonds, commercial
 Committed by any person who,
papers, deposit certificates, trust
knowing that any monetary certificates, custodial receipts or
instrument or property deposit substitute instruments,
represents, involves, or relates to trading orders, transactions
the proceeds of any unlawful tickets and confirmations of sale
activity. (PUTA-CA) or investments and money
1. Transacts said monetary market instruments.
instrument or property
2. Converts, transfers, disposes of, Covered Persons
moves, acquires, possesses, or
 Report to the AMLC all covered
Uses said monetary instrument or
and suspicious transactions
property
within 5 working days from
3. Conceals or disguises the true
occurrence thereof
nature, source, location,
 Exception: Lawyers and
disposition, movement or
Accountants acting as
ownership of or rights with
independent legal professionals
respect to said monetary
(professional secrecy) who
instrument or property
happened you acquire a
4. Attempts or conspires to commit
suspicious information from that
money laundering offences
client of yours.
5. Aids, abets, assists in or
counsels the admission of the Safe Harbor Provision
money laundering offences
referred to in paragraphs a, b, or  No administrative, criminal or civil
c, and; proceedings, shall lie against any
6. Performs or fails to perform any person for having made a
act as a result of which he covered or suspicious transaction
facilitates the offense of money report in the regular performance
laundering referred to in of his duties in good faith,
paragraphs a, b, or c whether or not such reporting
results in any criminal
Money laundering is also committed by prosecution under this act.
any covered person who, knowing that a
covered or suspicious transaction is Covered Transactions
required under this act to be reported to  Transaction, in cash or other
the Anti-Money Laundering Council, equivalent monetary instrument,
fails to do so. involving a total amount in excess
Money Instrument defined. of P500,000 (threshold amount)
within one banking days.
1. Coins or currency of legal tender Casinos (in excess of
in the PH, or of any other country P5,000,000)
2. Drafts, checks, and notes;
  All records of all transaction of
covered institutions shall be
Suspicious Transactions defined.
maintained and safely stored for
 A transaction with a covered five (5) years from the dates of
institution, regardless of the transactions. Said records and
amount involved where any of the files shall contain the full and true
following circumstances exists identity of the owners or holders
(SUSU-DIC) of the accounts involved in the
1. No Underlying legal or trade covered transactions and all other
obligation, purpose, or economic customer identification
justification documents
2. Client is not properly Identified  If closed account-at least five (5)
3. Amount involved not years from the dates when they
Commensurate with clients were closed
business or financial capacity  If a money laundering case was
4. Transaction Structured in order to filed-file must be retained until it
avoid being subject of reportorial is confirmed that the case has
requirements been finally resolved or
5. Transactions which Deviates from terminated by the court
clients profile and/or clients past 3. Prohibition against Certain
transactions with covered Account
institutions  Covered institutions shall
6. Transactions related to Unlawful maintain accounts only in the true
activities, including those and full name of the account
committed or about to be owner or holder.
committed  Accounts shall be opened and
7. Similar or analogous transactions created face-to-face but due to
Preventive measures and obligations pandemic, online is adopted
of covered persons  Peso and foreign currency non-
checking numbered accounts
1. Customer Identification shall be allowed. Provided, that
 Covered institutions shall the true identity of the
establish and record the true customers are satisfactorily
identity of its clients based on established based on official and
official documents. They shall other reliable documents and
maintain a system of verifying records, and that the information
the true identity of their clients. and documents required under
 For trustees, nominee and the provisions of these rules are
agency accounts: Verify and obtained and recorded by the
record the true and full identity of covered institutions
the person on whose behalf a
transaction is being conducted
2. Record Keeping
Minimum information/documents
required for corporate and juridical
entities
1. Articles of
Incorporation/Partnership
2. By laws;
3. Official address or principal
business address
4. List of directors/partners
5. List of principal stockholders
owning at least 2% of the capital
stock
6. Contact numbers
7. Beneficial owners, if any; and
8. Verification of the authority and
identification of the person
purporting to act on behalf of the
client
AMLC is composed of:
1. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(Governor)
2. Insurance Commission
(chairman); and
3. Securities and Exchange
Commission (chairman)
AMLC Powers
1. Inquire into deposits or
investments. When:
 Upon order of any competent
court (court of appeal) based on
an ex parte application
 Under the Anti-Terror Law
 No court order shall be required
in; Kidnapping for ransom, Drug
Offenses, Hijacking, destructive
arson and murder, including
those perpetrated by terrorists
against non-combatants and
similar (civilian) targets, similar
foreign offenses, and AMLC’s
authority under the Anti-Terror
Law
2. Freeze Order
 You cannot withdraw/use the
account in such period of time.
Freeze order shall be effective
immediately, for a period of 20
days either lift or extend the
freeze order (if extend, only up to
6 months [20 days is included])
 Anti-Terror Law
3. Asset Forfeiture
 AMLC may institute civil forfeiture
proceedings and all other
remedial proceedings through the
office of solicitor general
 When? When there is a
covered transaction or
suspicious transaction report
made and the court has, in a
petition filed for the purpose,
ordered the seizure of any
monetary instrument or property,
in whole or in part, directly or
indirectly, related to said report
 If monetary instrument or
property to be forfeited cannot be
located, the convicted may be
ordered to pay the value of the
monetary instrument or property
in lieu of forfeiture
Updates on AML
 RA 11521 which was signed
into law on January 29, 2021,
introduces amendments to
AMLA in a bid to prevent the
country from being included
on the ”gray list” or countries
with weak policies against
dirty money by the Financial
Action Task Force (Based on
Paris, Global Money
 Laundering and Terrorist suspicious transaction reports
Financing watchdog.) from covered persons
 Financial Action Task force b. Issue subpoenas and
set international standards conduct search and seizure
that aim to prevent this illegal of suspicious accounts
activities and the harm it will c. Preserve, manage, or dispose
cause the society. assets pursuant to a freeze
 Being included in the “Gray order, preservation order, or
list” means there will be a judgement of forfeiture
higher interest rates and d. To implement targeted
processing fees as well as financial sanctions in relation
more layers of scrutiny from to the proliferation of weapons
financial institutions (in case of mass destruction and their
mangungutang nanaman ang financing
pilipinas it will be hard to us to  Adopted information security and
ask for it because we are no confidentiality proposals,
longer have “A” credit) safeguarding information
processed through AMLC and
Salient Amendments to AMLA deterring the council’s staff
 Included transactions in excess of leaking or misusing information
P500,000 of all Philippine
offshore Gaming Operators
(POGO) within the purview of
AMLA
 Included real estate brokers and
developers as “covered persons”
but only for single cash
transactions involving amounts in
excess of P7,500,000, effectively
narrowing the burden of
reportorial requirements for high-
risk transactions
 Included tax crimes with a
threshold in excess of
P25,000,000 and violations of
the Trade Management Act on
the financing of the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
As a predicate offense
 Granted the AMLC the
following power;
a. Authority to require, receive,
and analyze covered or