Philippines Amends Financial Crime Reporting Procedures to Enhance Compliance and Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued a revised set of guidelines for financial institutions and other covered persons to report suspicious transactions, aimed at strengthening the country’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime.
Key Changes
- A more comprehensive definition of “covered persons” to include certain designated non-financial businesses and professions.
- Real estate developers and brokers are now required to define “covered transactions” for their industry.
- The Executive Director of AMLC is granted authority to require submission of all covered transactions, including low-risk ones, from individuals under investigation.
- Financial institutions must include specific details of their reporting chain and process in their Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Prevention Program.
Reporting Requirements
- Clarification of rules regarding the timing of submission of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), including identification of applicable reporting and determination periods.
- Non-working and non-reporting days are now taken into account when counting the prescribed reporting period, with automatic suspension if necessary.
- Loan payment is no longer considered a low-risk transaction.
Low-Risk Transactions
- A list of low-risk covered transactions involving Operators of Payment Systems has been provided.
- Previously approved low-risk transactions involving money service businesses (MSBs) have been incorporated into the new guidelines.
Compliance and Administrative Sanctions
- New provisions on compliance-checking and administrative sanctions have been introduced.
- Updated online registration guidelines have been provided, along with a list of “red flags” and transaction codes for real estate transactions and virtual asset service providers.
Additional Changes
- Changes to country and currency codes have been made.
- Two new predicate crimes that must be reported have been added.
- The reporting of loan availment and sale of real and other properties acquired has been updated, with specific guidelines provided for suspicious transaction reporting on a per account basis.
Resources
The AMLC Registration and Reporting Guidelines (ARRG) can be downloaded from the council’s website.