PH kept on dirty money watch list

AN anti-money laundering watchdog has kept the Philippines on a watch list of countries with faulty systems, noting that the country had yet to fully address previously identified deficiencies.

The country still needs to address three strategic deficiencies to exit the "gray list" of states subject to increased monitoring, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on Friday.

"Three out of 18 action items remain outstanding," Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Raja Kumar told reporters.

"[P]ut another way, it means that the Philippines has actually taken action on 15 of the 18 action items that it needed to act on," he added.

The country, previously blacklisted from 2000 to 2004, was placed in the FATF's "gray list" in 2021 due to "strategic deficiencies" in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism systems.

Blacklisting had caused foreign banks to avoid processing Philippine transactions, increasing funding costs and deterring investors.

Along with increased FATF monitoring, being on the gray list means a country has committed to act on the identified deficiencies within agreed timeframes.

The Philippines already missed a January 2023 deadline to remedy its deficiencies and was initially reported to have received a one-year extension.

With eight deficiencies still remaining at the start of 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in January ordered all concerned agencies to expedite efforts to get the country out of the FATF watch list.

"The Philippines continues to demonstrate steady progress, including increasing money laundering investigations and prosecutions in line with its risks," Kumar said.

The country, however, still needs to implement controls to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risks that are linked to casino junkets.

"They (authorities) also need to apply measures to all main ports to essentially detect false declarations of currency and confiscate illicit proceeds in area that it still needs to work on and complete would be to prosecute terrorist financing in line with its risk," Kumar added.

AMLC Executive Director Matthew David

In a separate statement on Friday, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said that it was "exhausting all measures in line with the President's directive."

"We welcome FATF's recognition of the country's progress in strengthening its position in the global fight against financial crimes, even as we remain focused on addressing remaining action plan items," AMLC Executive Director Matthew David said.

"The Philippines will continue to work on implementing its action plan to address remaining deficiencies," he added.