ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT e) AIDS, ABETS, ASSISTS in or COUNSELS the commission of the

money laundering offenses referred to in paragraphs (a), (b)

RA 9160, RA 9194, RA 10365 or (c) above; and
(effective17 October 2001) f) performs or fails to perform any act as a result of which he
FACILITATES the offense of money laundering referred to in
paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) above.
g) Covered person FAILS TO REPORT to the AMLC a covered or
Money Laundering suspicious transaction.
Activities intended to disguise the origins of the proceeds of the
crime through processes that transform illegal inputs into
apparently legitimate sources. MONETARY INSTRUMENT

Purpose • Coins or currency of legal tender of the Philippines, or of any

other country;
To protect and preserve the integrity and confidentiality of bank
accounts and to ensure that the Philippines shall not be used as a • Drafts, checks and notes;
money laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activity • Securities or negotiable instruments, bonds, commercial papers,
MONEY LAUNDERING deposit certificates, trust certificates, custodial receipts or
deposit substitute instruments, trading orders, transactions
• committed by any person who, knowing that any monetary tickets and confirmations of sale or investments and money
instrument or property represents, involves, or relates to the market instruments;
proceeds of any unlawful activity:
• Contracts or policies of insurance, life or non-life, and contracts
a) TRANSACTS said monetary instrument or property; or suretyship; and
b) CONVERTS, transfers, disposes of, moves, acquires, • Other similar instruments where title thereto passes to another
possesses or uses said monetary instrument or property; by endorsement, assignment or delivery.
c) CONCEALS or DISGUISES the true nature, source, location,
disposition, movement or ownership of or rights with respect
to said monetary instrument or property;
d) ATTEMPTS or CONSPIRES to commit money laundering
offenses referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c);
UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES” (PREDICATE CRIMES) • Forgeries and Counterfeiting;
‘Unlawful activity’ refers to any act or omission or series or • Violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003;
combination thereof involving or having direct relation to the
following: • Violations of the Revised Forestry Code of the

• Kidnapping for ransom; • Philippines, as amended;

• Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002; • Violations of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998;

• Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; • Violations of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995;
• Violations of the Wildlife Resources Conservation and
• Plunder;
• Robbery and extortion; • Protection Act;

• Jueteng and Masiao punished as illegal gambling under • Violation of the National Caves and Cave Resources
Presidential Decree No. 1602; • Management Protection Act;
• Piracy on the high seas; • Violation of the Anti-Carnapping Act of 2002;
• Qualified theft; • Violations of the decree Codifying the Laws on
• Swindling and Other Forms of Swindling; • Illegal/Unlawful Possession, Manufacture, Dealing in,
• Smuggling; Acquisition or Disposition of Firearms, Ammunition or
Explosives;
• Violations of the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000;
• Violation of the Anti-Fencing Law;
• Hijacking and other violations under Republic Act No.
• Violation of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos
• 6235; destructive arson and murder;
• Act of 1995;
• Terrorism and conspiracy to commit;
• Violation of the Intellectual Property Code of the
• Financing of terrorism;
• Philippines;
• Bribery and Corruption of Public Officers;
• Violation the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009;
• Frauds and Illegal Exactions and Transactions;
• Violation of the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009;
• Malversation of Public Funds and Property;
 • Violations of the Special Protection of Children Against Covered institutions and their obligations
• Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination; “COVERED PERSONS”, natural or juridical refers to: (see RA 10365)
• Fraudulent practices and other violations under the (1) BANKS, NON-BANKS, QUASI-BANKS, TRUST
• Securities Regulation Code of 2000; and ENTITIES, FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEALERS, PAWNSHOPS, MONEY
CHANGERS, REMITTANCE AND TRANSFER COMPANIES and other
• Felonies or offenses of a similar nature that are similar entities and all other persons and their subsidiaries and
• Punishable under the penal laws of other countries. affiliates supervised or regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas;
(2) INSURANCE COMPANIES, PRE-NEED COMPANIES and all other
persons supervised or regulated by the Insurance Commission
Covered institutions and their obligations
(3) (i) securities dealers, brokers, salesmen, investment houses and
They have to report to the AMLC all covered and suspicious other similar persons managing securities or rendering services as
transactions within five (5) working days from occurrence thereof. investment agent, advisor, or consultant, (ii) mutual funds, close-
end investment companies, common trust funds, and other similar
persons, and (iii) other entities administering or otherwise dealing in
SAFE HARBOR PROVISION currency, commodities or financial derivatives based thereon,
valuable objects, cash substitutes and other similar monetary
• No administrative, criminal or civil proceedings shall lie against
instruments or property supervised or regulated by the Securities
any person for having made a covered transaction report in the
and Exchange Commission (SEC);
regular performance of his duties and in good faith, whether or
not such reporting results in any criminal prosecution under the (4) JEWELRY DEALERS in PRECIOUS METALS, who, as a business,
AMLA or any other Philippine law. (2016 IRR of RA 9160) trade in precious metals, for transactions in excess of One million
pesos (P1,000,000.00);
• If the suspended transaction is later proven legitimate and legal,
the bank involved will be protected from any administrative or (5) JEWELRY DEALERS in PRECIOUS STONES, who, as a business,
criminal liability. trade in precious stones, for transactions in excess of One million
pesos (P1,000,000.00);
• Banks are required to submit suspicious transaction reports but
if after investigation, it turned out that that transaction is not (6) COMPANY SERVICE PROVIDERS which, as a business, provide
really suspicious, then the bank who reported the suspicion any of the following services to third parties: (i) acting as a
should not be held liable, criminally or administratively formation agent of juridical persons; (ii) acting as (or arranging for
another person to act as) a director or corporate secretary of a
company, a partner of a partnership, or a similar position in relation
to other juridical persons; (iii) providing a registered office, business
address or accommodation, correspondence or administrative • “SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS” – are transactions with covered
address for a company, a partnership or any other legal person or institutions, regardless of the amounts involved, where any of
arrangement; and (iv) acting as (or arranging for another person to the following circumstances exists:
act as) a nominee shareholder for another person; and
• There is no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or
(7) Persons who provide any of the following services: economic justification
a) MANAGING OF CLIENT MONEY , securities or other assets; • The client is not properly identified
b) MANAGEMENT OF BANK, savings or securities accounts; • the amount involved is not commensurate with the business or
financial capacity of the client
c) ORGANIZA TION OF CONTRIBUTIONS for the creation, operation
or management of companies; and • Taking into account all known circumstances, it may be
perceived that the client’s transaction is structured in order to
d) creation, operation or MANAGEMENT OF JURIDICAL PERSONS or avoid being the subject of reporting requirements under the Act
arrangements, and buying and selling business entities.
• Any circumstances relating to the transaction which is observed
(8) CASINOS, including internet and ship-based casinos, with to deviate from the profile of the client and/or the client’s past
respect to their casino cash transactions related to they gaming transactions with the covered institution;
operations.
• The transactions is in a way related to an unlawful activity or
NOTE: Lawyers and accountants are NOT COVERED “with respect offense under this Act that is about to be, is being or has been
to privileged information” covered by confidentiality and attorney- committed; or
client relationship
• Any transaction that is similar or analogous to any of the
foregoing
Covered and suspicious transactions • Should a transaction be determined to be both a covered
• “COVERED TRANSACTIONS” –a transaction in cash or other transaction and a suspicious transaction, the covered institution
equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount IN shall be required to report the same as a suspicious transaction.
EXCESS of P500,000.00 within one (1) banking day.
• For casinos, a single casino transaction involving an amount in
excess of Five million pesos (₱5,000,000.00) or its equivalent in
any other currency.
OBLIGATIONS OF COVERED PERSONS: 8. Verification of the authority and identification of the person
purporting to act on behalf of the client.
(Sec. 9) Prevention of Money Laundering;
(b) RECORD KEEPING. — All records of all transactions of covered
(a) CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION. — Covered institutions shall institutions shall be maintained and safely stored for FIVE (5) YEARS
establish and RECORD the TRUE IDENTITY of its CLIENTS based on from the dates of transactions.
official documents. They shall maintain a system of verifying the
true identity of their clients and, in case of corporate clients, require a. With respect to closed accounts, the records on customer
a system of verifying their legal existence and organizational identification, account files and business correspondence, shall be
structure, as well as the authority and identification of all persons preserved and safely stored for at least five (5) years from the dates
purporting to act on their behalf. when they were closed.
a. anonymous accounts, accounts under fictitious names, and all (c) REPORTING OF COVERED AND SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS. –
other similar accounts shall be absolutely prohibited. Peso and Covered persons shall report to the AMLC all covered transactions
foreign currency non-checking numbered accounts shall be allowed. and suspicious transactions WITHIN FIVE (5) WORKING DAYS from
The BSP may conduct annual testing solely limited to the occurrence thereof, unless the AMLC prescribes a different period
determination of the existence and true identity of the owners of not exceeding fifteen (15) working days.
such accounts.
a. When reporting covered or suspicious transactions to the AMLC,
covered persons and their officers and employees are prohibited
from communicating, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any
MINIMUM INFORMATION/DOCUMENTS REQUIRED means, to any person or entity, the media, the fact that a covered
Proper identification for corporate and juridical entities: or suspicious transaction has been reported or is about to be
reported, the contents of the report, or any other information in
1. Articles of Incorporation/Partnership; relation thereto. Neither may such reporting be published or aired
2. By-Laws; in any manner or form by the mass media”, electronic mail, or other
similar devices. In case of violation thereof, the concerned officer
3. Official address or principal business address; and employee of the covered person and media shall be held
criminally liable.”
4. List of directors/partners;
5. List of principal stockholders owning at least two percent
(2%) of the capital stock;
6. Contact numbers;
7. Beneficial owners, if any; and
Prohibition against Certain Accounts I. Kidnapping for ransom
• Covered institutions shall maintain accounts only in the true and II. Comprehensive Dangerous Act of 2002
full name of the account owner or holder. The provisions of
existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding anonymous III. Hijacking and other violations under Republic
accounts, accounts under fictitious names, and all other similar Act No. 6235;
accounts shall be absolutely prohibited. IV. Destructive arson and murder;
• No new accounts shall be opened and created without face-to- V. Terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism
face contact and full compliance with the minimum
requirements for individual customers.
• Peso and foreign currency non-checking numbered accounts • Court order is issued by the CA, it will act on the application to
shall be allowed: Provided, that the true identity of the inquire within 24 hours from its filing.
customers of all peso and foreign currency non-checking • Inquiry into deposits in this case does NOT require a pre-
numbered accounts are satisfactorily established based on existing criminal case.
official and other reliable documents and records, and that the
information and documents required under the provisions of • Court may NOT issue ex parte a bank inquiry order under S11
these Rules are obtained and recorded by the covered of the AMLA. Must be upon motion.
institution.
• A bank inquiry order under Section 11 does not necessitate
any form of physical seizure of property of the account holder
Powers of the AMLC
• AMLC – may inquire into or examine any particular deposit or (2) BSP – may inquire into or examine any deposit of investment
investment with any banking institution or non-bank financial with any banking institution or non-bank financial institution when
institution: the examination is made in the course of a periodic or special
examination, in accordance with the rules of examination of the
a) COURT ORDER required – (ex parte application) in BSP.
cases of violation of this Act, when it has been
established that there is PROBABLE CAUSE that the Note: Constitutional rights under the bill of rights shall be respected
deposits or investments are related to an unlawful in the implementation of this act (Sec. 21, RA 10365)
activities or a money laundering offense.
b) NO COURT ORDER required –in cases involving: [KC-
DHT]
Freezing and forfeiture Effectivity of the freeze order
• “FREEZE ORDER” – A freeze order is an extraordinary and EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, and which shall NOT EXCEED SIX (6)
interim relief issued by the Court of Appeals to prevent the MONTHS depending upon the circumstances of the case
dissipation, removal, or disposal of properties that are
suspected to be the proceeds of, or related to unlawful When is the freeze order LIFTED?
activities. • if there is NO CASE FILED against a person whose account has
• The primary objective of a freeze order is to temporarily been frozen within the period determined by the court, the
freeze order shall be deemed ipso facto lifted:
preserve monetary instruments or property that are in any way
related to an unlawful activity or money laundering, by • Provided, further, that this new rule shall not apply to pending
preventing the owner from utilizing them during the duration of cases in the courts.
the freeze order

Remedy of person whose account was frozen?

What to file for a freeze order?
• file a MOTION TO LIFT THE FREEZE ORDER
• Upon a VERIFIED EX PARTE PETITION by the AMLC (through the
OSG) and after determination that probable cause exists that • the court must resolve this motion before the expiration of the
any monetary instrument or property is in any way related to an freeze order.
unlawful activity Who can issue a TRO against the freeze order?
• Issued by the CA. • Supreme Court
– It is solely the CA which has the authority to issue a
freeze order. It also has the exclusive jurisdiction to
extend existing freeze orders previously issued by the
AMLC.

When should the CA act of the petition to freeze?

• Within twenty-four (24) hours from filing of the petition.
• If the application is filed a day before a nonworking day, the
computation of the twenty-four (24)-hour period shall
exclude the nonworking days.
CIVIL FORFEITURE • RTC; the court which rendered the judgment of forfeiture,
within fifteen (15) days from the date of the finality of the order
The forfeiture shall include those other monetary instrument or of forfeiture, in default of which the said order shall become
property having an equivalent value to that of the monetary final and executor.
instrument or property found to be related in any way to an
unlawful activity or a money laundering offense, when with due PAYMENT IN LIEU OF FORFEITURE
diligence, the former cannot be located, or it has been substantially
altered, destroyed, diminished in value or otherwise rendered • the court may, instead of enforcing the order of forfeiture of the
worthless by any act or omission, or it has been concealed, monetary instrument or property or part thereof or interest
removed, converted, or otherwise transferred, or it is located therein, accordingly ORDER the convicted offender to pay an
outside the Philippines or has been placed or brought outside the amount equal to the value of said monetary instrument or
jurisdiction of the court, or it has been commingled with other property
monetary instrument or property belonging to either the offender • When order for forfeiture of the property subject of a money
himself or a third person or entity, thereby rendering the same laundering offense cannot be located or has been destroyed or
difficult to identify or be segregated for purposes of forfeiture. rendered worthless by the offender
How initiated?
• Upon determination by the AMLC that probable cause exists Updates on AMLA
that any monetary instrument or property is in any way
related to an unlawful activity or a money laundering offense,
• a VERIFIED EX PARTE PETITION FOR FORFEITURE by the AMLC • RA 11521 which was signed into law on January 29, 2021,
(through the OSG) introduces amendments to AMLA in a bid to prevent the
country from being included on the “gray list” or countries
• Filed with the RTC with weak policies against dirty money by the Financial
Action Task Force.

CLAIM ON FORFEITED ASSETS • Included transactions in excess of Php500,000.00 of all

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) within the
• Where the court has issued an order of forfeiture of the purview of AMLA.
monetary instrument or property in a criminal prosecution for
any money laundering offense, the offender or any other • Included real estate brokers and developers as “covered
person claiming an interest therein may apply, by VERIFIED persons”, but only for single cash transactions involving
PETITION, for a declaration that the same legitimately belongs amounts in excess of Php7.5 million, effectively narrowing
to him and for segregation or exclusion of the monetary the burden of reportorial requirements for high-risk
instrument or property corresponding thereto. transactions.
• Tax crimes with a threshold in excess of Php25 million is
now included and violations of the Trade Management Act
on the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction as a predicate offense.
• AMLC additional powers:
- Authority to require, receive, and analyze covered or
suspicious transaction reports from covered persons.
- Issue subpoenas and conduct search and seizures of
suspicious accounts
- Preserve, manage, or dispose assets pursuant to a
freese order, preservation order, or judgment of
forfeiture.
- To implement targeted financial sanctions in relation to
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
their financing.
• Adopted information security and confidentiality proposals,
safeguarding information processed through AMLC and
deterring the council’s staff from leaking or misusing
information.