AMLC eyes case buildup over 'Nagoyo' illegal bank transfers

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is looking into possible money laundering offenses in relation to the recent “Mark Nagoyo” hacking incident, wherein funds from BDO account holders were transferred to fictitious bank accounts.

“The AMLC, as implementer of the Anti-Money Laundering laws and regulations in the country, is most definitely looking into it, in coordination with the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) and other law enforcement agencies,” AMLC executive director Mel Georgie Racela told GMA News Online.

“Our objective is two-pronged: first, to establish money laundering offenses, and second, check for violations of AML regulations particularly on customer on-boarding (a.k.a KYC or know your customer), monitoring of transactions, and sufficiency of Internal control practices by the banks concerned,” Racela said.

He added that the ultimate objective of the AMLC’s investigation is to ensure that such an incident will not happen in the future.

Last week, victims took to social media to report unauthorized withdrawals from their BDO accounts and transferred to the accounts of a certain "Mark Nagoyo" with Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP).

The funds taken from BDO account holders were reportedly transferred to the fictitious accounts to acquire cryptocurrencies.

The BSP has already formed a task force to look deeper into the matter.

“Incidents such as hacking and creation of fictitious accounts (e.g. Mark Nagoyo) to facilitate fund transfers impair public confidence which is an essential prerequisite to financial integrity,” the AMLC executive director said.

The BSP has traced two to four persons behind the “Mark Nagoyo” account.

UnionBank, on the other hand, identified six persons of interest behind the hacking incident.

Racela, for his part, said AMLC has also identified some persons of interest.

“[B]ut as to whether there is a violation of AML laws and regulations, this will still be the subject of our compliance checking,” he said.

The National Privacy Commission also launched a probe into possible data breach in relation to the hacking incident. —LBG, GMA News