AMLC pushes for changes in RA 9160, 9372
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:24:58 +0000
THE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is pushing for amendments to the Philippines’ anti-money laundering and human security laws to raise the country’s compliance to international standards.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the AMLC made the push after deficiencies were found in the country’s technical compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards, and in the effectiveness of its existing mechanisms.
One of the salient provisions of the AMLC’s proposed amendments to Republic Act 9160, or the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001,” is the inclusion, as covered persons, of real estate developers, brokers and sales agents to perform obligations of customer due diligence, recordkeeping and suspicious transaction reporting.
The country’s financial intelligence unit also wants to include additional predicate offenses to money laundering, such as certain tax crimes; and proliferation financing by managing the trade in strategic or dual-use goods, which it identified as “materials that may be utilized in manufacturing nuclear weapons.”
The expansion of the investigative powers of the AMLC was also raised as well as the inclusion of the authority to implement targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism, terrorism financing, proliferation, or proliferation financing on designated persons and entities identified in the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
Other salient features are the prohibition of the issuance of injunctive relief against AMLC actions and other provisions ensuring the operational independence of the agency and its secretariat.
The Bangko Sentral also said the AMLC’s proposed additions to RA 9372, or the “Human Security Act of 2007,” included the designation of individuals as terrorists; and the criminalization of the financing of travel for purposes of committing terrorist acts of foreign terrorist fighters.
The AMLC also recommended to add the definition of “proliferation of weapons of mass destruction” to the law, stressing “this will lay down the framework for the implementation of targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation financing.”
Stronger powers of intelligence and law enforcement agencies to prevent, detect and combat terrorism were also proposed.
Last, the AMLC wanted the legal process for obtaining data related to terrorism and terrorism financing expedited.
“The passage of both laws and their implementation must be accomplished by October 2020,” the BSP said, noting that the Philippines would undergo another review by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering–Joint Group in the fourth quarter of next year.
It warned that failure to implement these key measures would result in the Philippines’ automatic referral to the International Cooperation Review Group or to “gray-listing.”
The Bangko Sentral explained that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) required all countries to notify their financial institutions of “gray-listed” countries and to consider measures to effectively manage the risks of transactions with individuals and entities from those countries.
The FATF is the international policy-making body that sets standards and promotes effective implementation of measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
“Through a reinforced AMLC and closer collaboration among government agencies concerned, however, AMLC Chairman Benjamin Diokno takes an optimistic stance in successfully addressing the country’s shortcomings in its AML/CTF system,” the central bank said.