NBI probes AMLC on case delays

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice is investigating officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) over supposed inaction on cases being pursued against suspected drug lords.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II revealed yesterday that he has tapped the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into possible criminal and administrative liabilities of AMLC officials.

“I asked the NBI to study if there could be criminal liability. I personally believe there’s criminal negligence on the part of some people there,” he said in a press conference.

The DOJ chief revealed that the AMLC has been sitting for 22 months on the request of the NBI to look into bank accounts and the paper trail of transactions of detained drug lords at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

He said the council did not act on the request until after President Duterte issued a warning to its officials during the recent anniversary of the NBI.

Barely two hours after the President’s warning, the AMLC replied to the January 2015 request of the NBI and sent several documents to the bureau.

But Aguirre said the documents were “useless.”

He also cited requests of the NBI earlier this year for the probe on the illegal drug trade at the NBP where Sen. Leila de Lima has been implicated.

“I’m not implying anything but from what I’ve heard, the second in command to the executive director (of AMLC) and also the head investigating officer are her (De Lima’s) fraternity brothers,” Aguirre bared.

De Lima is one of the founders of the Lambda Rho Sigma sorority at the San Beda College law school. Their counterpart is the Lambda Rho Beta fraternity.

Aguirre earlier aired his frustration with the AMLC, saying it has been giving the NBI a hard time in building up a case against De Lima.

He said he was surprised by the AMLC dragging its feet on the case when it was able to immediately look at the records of former vice president Jejomar Binay when he was investigated by the Senate on corruption allegations when he was still mayor of Makati City.

Aguirre also believes that the President’s frustration with the AMLC could be traced back to the election campaign when Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV accused him of having P200 million deposited in a bank.

Duterte said that if only the council investigated, the public would have been informed that the allegations were false.