The Philippines risks being put on the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list” if it does not fully implement the necessary amendments to its anti-money laundering law, according to the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). 

Mel Georgie Racela, Secretariat of the AMLC said the Philippines must “demonstrate effective implementation of the Anti-Terror Act (ATA) before the observation period ends in February 2021.” He stressed that the country also has four months left to pass and implement the proposed amendments to its Anti Money Laundering Act

“Although the passage of the ATA is a welcome development, this is not enough as the Philippines is being assessed both on technical and effectiveness compliance,” Racela said.

The country must fully address the gaps and deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) system, according to the AMLC. 

The AMLC stated that the Philippines should commit to the following activity to show the efficiency of their implementation of the ATA:

  • Having detailed timelines on identifying milestones on the convening of the Anti-Terrorism Council
  • Issuing the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)
  • Disseminating infromation to various stakeholders such as the law enforcement agencies and covered persons, including banks, insurance companies, entities supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the casinos.

Being placed on the FATF grey list would mean it is under increased monitoring and would need to commit to resolving strategic deficiencies.

There are currently 16 countries on the FATF grey list; Albania the Bahamas, Barbados Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe

Click here for FinCrime Report country guides, detailing FATF site visits, plenaries and mutual evaluation reports for nations across the world.

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