Stricter anti-money laundering set for implementation in the Philippines early November

Following pressure from the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering to address shortcomings in its anti-money laundering laws, the Philippines is set to introduce stricter measures for gambling companies with effect from November 4.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) will monitor transactions under fresh government legislation imposing regulations drafted by AMLC in consultation with Pagcor and equivalent in diligence requirements to those used in banking and financial institutions.

The regulations will apply across the Philippines, including the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.

Requirements include:

* Casinos must establish internal programs to guard against money laundering;
* Systems must include a high level of KYC (know your customer) ;
* Monitoring systems designed to detect money laundering or suspicious transactions must be deployed;
* Compliance officers, reporting to senior management, must be employed;
* Gambling firms will be required to keep accurate records on players and maintain these for at least five years;
* Operators must not permit punters to use aliases, and are required to demand proof of identity;
* Transfer and withdrawal of funds must be strictly controlled and monitored;
* Suspicious transactions, including those outside of usual patterns, must be reported to the AMLC within 5 to 15 working days;
* Operators will have a grace periof opf three months after the implementation of the measures to ensure they are compliant.

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