BOC: Efforts vs. cash smuggling helped in PH removal from grey list

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Friday its strict border control measures against illicit cash smuggling have played a crucial role in the Philippines’ removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List.

According to the BOC, its intensified crackdown against smuggling, deployment of cash-sniffing dogs, upgraded baggage scanning systems and expanded capacity-building for customs personnel led to a 455-fold increase in currency declarations as well as in 194 cash seizures in 2024 alone.

To recall, the Philippines is no longer among the countries under the watch of an international body for money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

In a statement issued over the weekend, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that the Philippines is no longer under increased monitoring.

When the FATF places a country under “grey list” or increased monitoring, it means that a country committed to resolving the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring.

The BOC said that the deployment of cash-sniffing dogs in major ports and the installation of advanced baggage scanning equipment have improved the detection of undeclared and suspicious currency.

Further, the agency intensified its capacity-building initiatives, training customs personnel on AML/CTF protocols and enhancing intelligence-sharing with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippine Coast Guard, Office of Transportation Security, Department of Justice, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

These efforts resulted in an unprecedented increase in enforcement actions, with the number of cash seizures in 2024 exceeding the total recorded in the previous decade. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News