By means of Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES is expected to finally leave the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” by February, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said, but continued reforms will be key to ensuring the country leaves the watchlist remains for dirty money.
“It is very rare that the FATF does not grant permission to be removed from the gray list after the site visit,” Matthew M. David, executive director of AMLC, said at an SGV & Co. forum on Friday.
“We are very positive that we can leave, because we have already shown (progress). That’s why I always say: we have to persevere. We still have to maintain what we did before and continue to do so until the next mutual evaluation.”
At its October plenary meeting, the FATF included the Philippines on its list of jurisdictions under enhanced surveillance due to ‘dirty money’ risks. The country has been on the list for more than three years or since June 2021.
However, the FATF said it has initially determined that the Philippines has “substantially completed” recommended action items to improve its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regime.
The dirty money watchdog will conduct an on-site assessment to verify the progress and sustainability of AML/CFT reforms in the country.
This visit is likely to take place early next year, before the next FATF plenary meeting in February.
Mr. David said the Philippines will know in February whether it can be removed from the list.
‘Yes, we will Find out. Through the same process, they will issue a public statement which they will upload on the FATF website,” he said Business world on the sidelines of the event.
The AMLC is also in the process of submitting a consolidated progress report to the FATF this month. Mr David said they are “optimistic” about the progress made so far.
“What we will show in the report is that we do indeed have evidence to support our claims that we have met the 18 recommended action plan items,” he added.
In its June update, the FATF said the country needs to address three remaining shortcomings out of 18 recommended action points.
These include “demonstrating that regulators are using AML/CFT controls to mitigate the risks associated with casino junkets; applying cross-border measures at all major seaports and airports, including the detection of false currency declarations and confiscation measures commensurate with the risk; and demonstrating an increase in the prosecution of TF (terrorist financing) cases commensurate with the risk,” the FATF said.
Mr David said failure to address the remaining action plans would have put the Philippines at risk of being blacklisted.
“The longer we are on the gray list, the more likely we are to be blacklisted,” he added.
While the country is expected to leave the gray list soon, there is still work to be done to maintain the progress made so far, Mr David said.
“We intend to continue this to prove sustainability, because sustainability is very important to the FATF… We need to show that all these recommended action plan items hold up. We maintain our measures and our performance,” he said.
“You’re still going to continue filing cases and that’s what we plan to do. We will file cases for money laundering and terrorist financing until December, until January and beyond.”
Mr David said the AMLC will also continue to improve the country’s AML/CFT regime by amending regulations and issuing new policies related to law enforcement on money laundering and terrorist financing, among others.
The AMLC is also seeking to make certain changes to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, he added.
In 2002, the FATF blacklisted the Philippines for having no legal framework against money laundering. It was removed from the blacklist a year later after the anti-money laundering law was passed.