THE Philippines central bank will require financial institutions to submit a report within 24 hours of discovering risks linked to money laundering and terrorist financing, as the South-east Asian nation steps up its fight against illicit transactions.
The new reporting requirement is spelled out in an Apr 29 circular by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The rule would allow the central bank to have “timely and accurate information on significant risk events” as part of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism supervision, the central bank said.
The Philippines is on the so-called grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money-laundering watchdog that has listed several deficiencies in the country’s efforts to combat illicit financing. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr early this year “directed all government agencies concerned to swiftly address the remaining strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF”, Anti-Money Laundering Council executive director Matthew David told reporters in January.
David said the Philippines was aiming to address the deficiencies within the year and trigger the exit process from FATF’s grey list. BLOOMBERG
