P126 trillion worth of suspicious transactions reported as of end-July -AMLC

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) saw a dramatic increase in reports of suspicious transactions - worth a total of P126 trillion - as of the first seven months of 2020, almost nearing the level recorded for the entire 2019.

In a text message, AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela said that as of July 31, they have recorded a total of 470,000 suspicious transaction reports (STRs).

“The monetary value of STRs is P126 trillion but 99% represents spurious transactions, which means they are not actual financial transactions,” Racela said.

“The bulk of the remaining 1% consists of swindling transactions, meaning the funds may not be actually existing,” he noted

In 2019, the AMC chief said STRs reached approximately 600,000.

“The estimate is as of end-September we may be able to already reach that [last year] figure,” Racela said.

At a virtual press briefing Friday, the AMLC chief noted that the dramatic rise in STRs does not necessarily equate to rising money laundering cases, but only an indication of increased cooperation between the agency and entities under its oversight.

“We’ve [also] noticed an increase in online fraudulent transactions,” Racela said.

The AMLC chief reminded the public to be vigilant in ensuring that digital platforms are not being used for fraudulent transactions. -MDM, GMA News