The Philippines is still on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” of countries that need better monitoring to strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) efforts, the agency said on Friday, June 28.
The FATF categorizes countries or jurisdictions with inadequate measures to combat AML/CFT on “black” and “grey” lists, which are issued three times a year.
When the FATF places a nation on the “grey list” or under increased monitoring, it signifies that the country has pledged to address the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed-upon timeframes and is subject to heightened scrutiny.
“Since June 2021, when the Philippines made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime, the Philippines has taken significant steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime, including by demonstrating an increase in ML investigations and prosecutions in line with risk; enforcement of beneficial ownership transparency obligations and law enforcement access to those beneficial ownership data records; and that risk-based supervision of DNFBPs (designated non-financial businesses and professions) is occurring,” the FATF said.
“The FATF urges the Philippines to swiftly implement its action plan to address (…) strategic deficiencies as soon as possible as all deadlines expired in January 2023,” it added.
In early January this year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed relevant government agencies to address and resolve the Philippines’ “grey listing.”
The government has set a deadline to exit the grey list by the beginning of 2024, having missed the initial deadline of January 2023.
In a statement, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said the National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter-Proliferation Financing Coordinating Committee (NACC) and all relevant agencies have been making exhaustive efforts to comply with the President’s directive.
The NACC is headed by the Executive Secretary.
The AMLC noted that during the recent FATF Working Group and Plenary meeting, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation financing of weapons of mass destruction.
In addition to highlighting the progress made, Bersamin emphasized the comprehensive, whole-of-nation approach, the high-level commitment, and the continuous efforts of the Philippines to enhance its financial security regime.
The AMLC stated that the Philippines will continue to work on implementing its action plan to address remaining deficiencies. This includes demonstrating that supervisors are using AML/CTF controls to mitigate risks associated with casino junkets; implementing cross-border measures at major air and seaports, including detecting false currency declarations and resulting confiscations; and increasing the prosecution of terrorism financing cases. (TCSP)
