The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday urged all banks and other financial institutions to report any suspected money laundering transactions, whether completed or attempted, done by any of their clients.
This was contained in a circular signed by Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier that amends certain provisions of the 2018 implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Council Regulatory Issuance A, B and C No. 1 Series of 2020.
It includes amendments to the filing of suspicious transactions reports.
“Suspicious transaction reports shall cover all transactions, whether completed or attempted; and suspicious transactions shall be promptly filed within the next working day from the occurrence thereof, which for the purposes of the rule, shall be the date of establishment of suspicion or determination of the suspicious nature of the transaction,” the circular read.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council earlier said there was an increasing level of threat of money laundering and other fraudulent activities with the proliferation of internet-based casinos in the country.
This conclusion was contained in AMLC’s study titled “Understanding the Internet-Based Casino Sector in the Philippines: A Risk Assessment” released Tuesday. The study was conducted as the growing sector is seen to pose a potential threat and may increase the risk to money laundering.
“There is an increasing level of threat to money laundering and other fraudulent activities. The number of investigations involving domestic Internet-based casino operators and service providers is growing. From 2017 to 2019, the recorded casino-kidnapping-related incidents totaled 63 cases,” the AMLC said.
“Based on suspicious transaction reports from 2013 to 2019, the sectoral risk assessment reveals that the estimated value of proceeds, involving Internet-based casinos and service providers, amounts to P14.01 billion,” the council said.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law RA 10927, or the “casino law” in 2017 that designated casinos, including Internet- and ship-based ones, as covered persons under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended.
The Second National Risk Assessment from 2015 to 2016 rated the casino sector with a high level of risk to money laundering. The sector rapidly expanded with its 2018 gross gaming revenue increasing by 22.5 percent from 2017, reaching P216.5 billion. Earnings from Internet-based casinos represented around 2.5 percent of the total GGR from 2017 to 2018.
Internet-based casinos are where non-Filipino gaming patrons located outside the Philippines play and place bets through gaming websites or standalone mobile applications. Winnings are paid out mostly through debit cards or wire transfers facilitated by online gaming operators and payment solution providers.
The AMLC also said there was high number of unregulated or unsupervised service providers which are distinct from POGOs. SPs are those that offer services such as gaming software, content streaming and other components of gaming operations to qualified POGOs.
“As not all service providers are within the realm of anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing supervision, they are prone to abuse and exploitation by criminal organizations. In 2019, local
authorities shut down around 200 Internet-based casinos and service providers, illegally servicing online gaming operations,” the AMLC said.
“In the same year, the local government also ceased the operations of one of the largest service providers for Internet-based casinos. The said SP was allegedly linked to an individual and entity subject of an AML investigation in relation to the Bangladesh Bank heist,” the council said.
The AMLC was referring to the $87-million money laundering scam in early 2016, where cyber thieves stole the amount from the account of Bank of Bangladesh in Federal Reserve in New York. The dirty money was wired to the Philippines and entered the domestic financial system through the Jupiter Makati branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Probes showed that the money was laundered by several individuals in local casinos.