What is the Anti-Money Laundering Council?

You might have heard of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) during the height of the flood control scandal and now in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

What is the mandate of the AMLC?

The AMLC is the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit tasked to implement the  “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001” or AMLA (as amended by Republic Act Nos. 9194, 10167, and 10365) and Republic Act No. 10168 or the “Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.”

The AMLC was founded under the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001” to maintain the security of the banking system and stop the country from becoming a hub for laundering the profits of criminal activities.

The AMLC is composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor as chairman; and the commissioner of the Insurance Commission and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission as members.

Under the law, the AMLC is mandated to do the following:

• To  require and receive covered transaction reports from covered institutions (e.g. banks, non-banks, quasi-banks, institutions regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)
• To issue orders addressed to the appropriate Supervising Authority or the covered institution to determine the true identity of the owner of any monetary instrument or property subject of a covered transaction report or request for assistance from a foreign State, or believed by the Council, on the basis of substantial evidence, to be, in whole or in part, wherever located, representing, involving, or related to, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any means, the proceeds of an unlawful activity;
• Institute civil forfeiture proceedings and all other remedial proceedings through the Office of the Solicitor General;
• To cause the filing of complaints with the Department of Justice or the Ombudsman for the prosecution of money laundering offenses;
• Initiate investigations of covered transactions, money laundering activities and other violations of this Act;
• Freeze any monetary instrument or property alleged to be proceeds of any unlawful activity;
• Implement such measures as may be necessary and justified under this Act to counteract money laundering;
• To receive and take action in respect of, any request from foreign states for assistance in their own anti-money laundering operations provided in this Act;
• Develop educational programs on the pernicious effects of money laundering, the methods and techniques used in money laundering, the viable means of preventing money laundering and the effective ways of prosecuting and punishing offenders; and
• Enlist the assistance of any branch, department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government, including government-owned and -controlled corporations, in undertaking any and all anti-money laundering operations, which may include the use of its personnel, facilities and resources for the more resolute prevention, detection and investigation of money laundering offenses and prosecution of offenders.

Among the notable functions of the AMLC is its authority to freeze.

The law provides that if the AMLC finds enough evidence to believe a bank account is linked to illegal activity, they can immediately freeze that account for up to 15 days.

No court shall issue a temporary restraining order or writ of injunction against any freeze order issued by the AMLC except the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

The AMLC has the authority to inquire into bank deposits.

With a court order, the AMLC can investigate specific bank deposits or investments if there is a strong reason to believe they are linked to money laundering. However, they cannot use this power to look into accounts or transactions that existed before the law took effect.

The AMLC is authorized to help foreign governments combat money laundering whether through tracking, freezing, restraining, or seizing assets believed to be the proceeds of an illegal activity; it can also provide necessary data to the requesting country, as long as legal procedures are followed; and it can petition a court to permanently take over illegal funds or property. — BAP, GMA News