AMLA – ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING ACT HOW IS ML COMMITTED?
- It is committed by any person who, knowing that
a) R.A. 9160 (2001) Threshold reporting was
any monetary instrument or property represents,
established with AMLC’s authority to freeze and
involves, or relates to the proceeds of any
inquire bank deposit.
unlawful activity: (TC-CAAP)
b) R.A. 9194 (2003) Freezing power given to
- also committed by any covered person who,
courts. STR now required.
knowing that a covered or suspicious transaction
c) R.A. 10167 (2012) Ex Parte Petitions
d) R.A. 10365 (2013) Expanded Covered Persons
a) transacts said monetary instrument or property;
(CPs). Additional predicate crimes.
b) Converts, transfers, disposes of, moves, acquires,
e) R.A. 10927 (2017) Inclusions of casinos
possesses or uses said monetary instrument or
(internet and ship-based, single casino cash
property;
transaction in excess of Php 5Million
c) conceals or disguises the true nature, source,
f) R.A. 11521 (2021) Inclusion of POGOs, Real
location, disposition, movement or ownership of
Estate Developer and Brokers. Inclusion of tax
or rights with respect to said monetary
crimes as a predicate offense,
instrument or property;
d) attempts or conspires to commit money
PURPOSE, POLICIES (SEC. 2, R.A 9160)
laundering offenses referred to in paragraphs (a),
(b) or (c);
PURPOSE - provide the details of implementation of
e) aids, abets, assists in or counsels the
the AMLA, as well as to assist all covered persons,
commission of the money laundering offenses
supervising authorities, law enforcement and other
referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) above;
government agencies, and other stakeholders by
and
prescribing the rules and regulations
f) Performs or fails to perform any act as a result of
POLICIES which he facilitates the offense of money
To protect and preserve the integrity and laundering referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)
confidentiality of bank accounts above.
To ensure that the Philippines shall not be used
DEFINITION OF TERMS
as a money laundering site for the proceeds of
any unlawful activity. Money Laundering - Money laundering is a crime
To pursue the State’s foreign policy to extend whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity are
cooperation in transnational investigation and transacted, thereby making them appear to have
prosecutions of persons involved in money originated from legitimate sources. Section 3c R.A.
laundering activities wherever committed. 9160
What money launders are looking for - Anonymity, Monetary Instrument
paperless, non-reporting requirement 1. coins or currency of legal tender of the
Philippines, or of any other country;
STAGES OF M MONEY LAUNDERING 2. drafts, checks and notes;
1. Placement Stage - by placing the funds into 3. securities or negotiable instruments, bonds,
circulation through formal financial institutions, commercial papers, deposit certificates, trust
casinos and other legitimate businesses certificates,
2. Layering - involves converting the proceeds of 4. Other similar instruments where title thereto
the crime into another form and creating complex passes to another by endorsement, assignment or
layers of financial transactions to obfuscate the delivery.
source and ownership of funds. 5. Contracts or policies of insurance, life or non-life,
3. Integration - entails using laundered proceeds in and contracts of suretyship; Section 3c R.A. 9160
4. seemingly normal transactions to create the
perception of legitimacy Unlawful activity - refers to any act or omission or
series or combination thereof involving or having
relation to the following:
- R.A. 9160 (2001) - - R.A. 10365 (2013) – securities or rendering services as investment
14 34 agent, advisor, or consultant,
- R.A. 9194 (2003) – - R.A. 10927 (2017 4. Jewelry dealers in precious metals, who, as a
14 business, trade in precious metals, for
- R.A. 10167 (2012) - R.A. 11521 (2021) - transactions in excess of One million pesos
36 (P1,000,000.00); 5.
5. Jewelry dealers in precious stones, who, as a
business, trade in precious stones, for
transactions in excess of One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00);
6. Company service providers which, as a business,
provide any of the following services to third
parties:
- acting as a formation agent of juridical persons;
- acting as (or arranging for another person to act
Exceptions: No court order shall be required in the as) a director or corporate secretary of a
following: (HK-MADS) company, a partner of a partnership,
- providing a registered office, business address or
a. Hijacking accommodation, correspondence
b. Kidnapping with ransom - acting as (or arranging for another person to act
c. Murder as) a nominee shareholder for another person;
d. Destructive Arson and
e. Violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act f. Acts of 7. Persons who provide any of the following
Terrorism or in violation of Human Security Act services:
- managing of client money, securities or other
COVERED PERSONS assets;
Covered “Institutions” was changed to Covered - management of bank, savings or securities
“Persons” under R.A. 10365. accounts;
Reporting of Covered and Suspicious - organization of contributions for the creation,
Transactions. – Covered persons shall report to operation or management of companies; and
the AMLC all covered transactions and - creation, operation or management of juridical
suspicious transactions within five (5) working persons or arrangements, and buying and selling
days from occurrence thereof, unless the AMLC business entities.
prescribes a different period not exceeding
fifteen (15) working days. "Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term ‘covered
persons’ shall exclude lawyers and accountants
Note that the term “covered persons” shall exclude acting as independent legal professionals in relation
lawyers and accountants to information concerning their clients
Covered persons’, natural or juridical, refer to: 8. Casinos, including internet and ship-based
1. Banks, non-banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, casinos, with respect to their casino cash
foreign exchange dealers, pawnshops, money transactions related to the gaming operations.
changers, remittance and affiliates supervised or R.A. 10927 (2017)
regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(BSP) The board of directors of the covered person shall
2. Insurance companies, pre-need companies and exercise active control and supervision in the
all other persons supervised or regulated by the formulation and implementation of institutional risk
Insurance Commission (IC); management
3. Securities dealers, brokers, salesmen, investment
houses and other similar persons managing SAFE HARBOR PROVISION
No administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, shall 7. Similar or analogous to any of the foregoing."
lie against any person for having made a covered or
suspicious transaction report in the regular
performance of his duties in good faith, whether or
not such reporting results in any criminal
prosecution under this Act or any other law.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FILE CTR AND STR! PREVENTIVE MEASURES & OBLIGATIONS OF
CTR and STR are not necessarily proof that the COVERED PERSON
customer is involved in unlawful activity.
CTR and STR are mere triggers for possible 1. Customer Identification
investigation. a. establish and record the true identity of its
Non-Reporting of CTR and STR is a Criminal clients based on official documents;
Offense ▪ b. Maintain a system of verifying the true
6 month – 4 years imprisonment, P100,000 – identity of their clients; and
P500,000 fine or both c. In case of corporate clients, require a system
of verifying their legal existence
COVERED TRANSACTIONS 2. Record Keeping
Transaction, in cash or other equivalent All records of all transactions of covered
monetary instrument, involving a total institutions shall be maintained and safely stored
amount in excess of Php 500,000 (threshold for five (5) years from the dates of transactions.
amount) within one banking day. 3. Reporting of Covered and Suspicious
Jewelry dealers in precious metals and stones Transactions. Covered institutions shall report
in excess of One million pesos (Php to the AMLC all covered or suspicious
1,000,000.00) transactions within 5 working days from
For casinos: a single casino transaction occurrence thereof, unless AMLC prescribes a
involving an amount in excess of Five million longer period not exceeding 15 working days.
pesos (Php 5,000,000.00) or its equivalent in
any other currency. Malicious Reporting is a Criminal Offense
For covered persons under Section 3(a)(9) ▪ 6 months – 4 years imprisonment
herein REDs and REBs, a single cash ▪ No Probation
transaction involving an amount in excess of
Seven million five hundred thousand pesos Covered Transaction Report- It refers to a report
(P7,500,000.00) or its equivalent in any other on a covered transaction filed by covered person
currency before the AMLC.
Suspicious Transaction Report - It refers to a
SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS report on a suspicious transaction filed by a covered
1. No underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose person before the AMLC.
or economic justification; Covered Transaction Report - A transaction (in
2. Client is not properly identified; case or equivalent monetary instrument) in excess of
3. Amount involved is not commensurate with the the threshold amount.
business or financial capacity of the client
4. Transaction is structured in order to avoid being CUSTOMER DUE DILIGENCE
the subject of reporting requirements under the It refers to the procedure of identifying and verifying
Act; the true identity of customers, and their agents and
5. Transaction which is observed to deviate from beneficial owners, including understanding and
the profile of the client and/or the client's past monitoring of their transactions and activities.
transactions with the covered institution;
6. Transactions is in a way related to an unlawful BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
activity or offense under this Act that is about to
be, is being or has been committed; or
Refers to those individuals or natural persons who 5.To impose administrative sanctions for the
ultimately own or control the customer or those for violations of laws, rules, regulations, and order and
whom another person conducts a transaction resolutions issued pursuant thereto.
6.To require the LRA and all its Registries of Deeds to
POWERS OF AMLC submit to the AMLC, reports on all real estate
transactions involving an amount in excess of
a) Inquire into deposits or investments 500,000 within 15 days from the date of
Upon order of any competent court based on an registration of the transaction.
ex parte application in cases of violations of this
Act, when it has been established that there is
probable cause that the deposits or investments,
including related accounts involved DATA PRIVACY ACT
b) Freezing Monetary Instrument or Property. SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as
- Upon a verified ex parte petition by the AMLC and the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”.
after determination that probable cause exists SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – These Rules further
that any monetary instrument or property is in enforce the Data Privacy Act and adopt generally
any way related to an unlawful activity as defined accepted international principles and standards for
in Section 3(i) hereof, the Court of Appeals may personal data protection. They safeguard the
issue a freeze order which shall be effective fundamental human right of every individual to
immediately, for a period of twenty (20) days. privacy while ensuring free flow of information for
- Within the twenty (20) day period, the Court of innovation, growth, and national development.
Appeals shall conduct a summary hearing, with
notice to the parties, to determine whether or not DEFINITION OF TERMS
to modify or lift the freeze order, or extend its a. “Act” refers to Republic Act No. 10173, also
effectivity. The total period of the freeze order known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012;
issued by the Court of Appeals under this
provision shall not exceed six (6) month b. “Commission” refers to the National Privacy
Commission;
c) Asset Forfeiture
AMLC may institute civil forfeiture proceedings c. “Consent of the data subject” refers to any
freely given, specific, informed indication of will,
and all other remedial proceedings through the
whereby the data subject agrees to the collection
Office of the Solicitor General when there is a
and processing of his or her personal, sensitive
covered transaction or suspicious transaction personal, or privileged information
report made and the court has, in a petition filed
for the purpose, ordered the seizure of any d. “Filing system” refers to any set of information
monetary instrument or property, in whole or in relating to natural or juridical persons to the
part, directly or indirectly, related to said report. extent that, although the information is not
processed by equipment operating automatically
OTHER POWERS in response to instructions
1.To require and receive covered or suspicious
transaction reports from covered institutions e. “Information and communications system”
2.To cause the filing of complaints with the DOJ refers to a system for generating, sending,
3.To investigate suspicious transactions and covered receiving, storing, or otherwise processing
transactions deemed suspicious after an electronic data messages
investigation by AMLC,
4.To apply before the CA ex parte, for the freezing of f. “Personal information controller” refers to a
natural or juridical person, or any other body
any monetary instrument or property alleged to be
who controls the processing of personal data, or
laundered, proceeds from
instructs another to process personal data on its
behalf. The term excludes:
1. A natural or juridical person, or any other
body, who performs such functions as
instructed by another person or
organization; or
2. A natural person who processes personal
data in connection with his or her personal,
family, or household affairs;
g. “Personal information processor” refers to any
natural or juridical person or any other body to
whom a personal information controller may
outsource
h. “Privileged information” refers to any and all
forms of data, which, under the Rules of Court
and other pertinent laws constitute privileged
communication
i. “Security incident” is an event or occurrence
that affects or tends to affect data protection, or
may compromise the availability, integrity and
confidentiality of personal data.
1. About an individual’s race, ethnic origin,
marital status, age, color, and religious,
philosophical or political affiliations;
2. About an individual’s health, education,
genetic or sexual life of a person, or to any
proceeding for any offense committed or
alleged to have been committed by such
individual, the disposal of such proceedings, or
the sentence of any court in such proceedings;
3. Issued by government agencies peculiar to an
individual which includes, but is not limited to,
social security numbers, previous or current
health records, licenses or its denials,
suspension or revocation, and tax returns; and
4. Specifically established by an executive order
or an act of Congress to be kept classified.
j.
