Dirty money monitoring expanded to jewelry dealers, fund managers

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is strictly monitoring jewelry dealers, fund managers, lawyers, and accountants as it continues to step up efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

AMLC Secretariat executive director Mel Georgie Racela said the council has issued a resolution adopting the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) guidelines for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP).

Racela said the Philippines would now be more technically compliant with international standards as the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) which cited the country’s lack of a regulatory framework for DNFBP in its last mutual evaluation in 2008.

Racela said the guidelines were based on Republic Act 10365 signed by former president Benigno Simeon Aquino III which included as covered persons jewelry dealers in precious stones and metals; company service providers who deliver fund or securities management services for other persons, and persons and entities who, as a business, provide services to organize, create, and manage companies and arrangements under the amended Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

“Inclusion of DNFBP as covered persons is something new to us. Businesses and professions that, until now, have played a marginal role in our fight against money laundering and terrorism financing will find themselves heavily involved in it. The AMLC itself had very little contact with these DNFBP prior to 2018. It will probably take time for the newly-adopted measures to take root. But we have one foot through the door, and this is a remarkable achievement,” Racela said.

According to Racela, DNFBP could be used as instruments in the commission of money laundering and terrorism financing.

“Certainly, professional secrecy cannot be used as a cloak to commit crime. I see that in the foreseeable future, the Philippines will come to embrace international AML/CTF standards more and more,” he said.

Under the guidelines, the AMLC would now oversee the compliance by DNFBP with the provisions of the AMLA.

Furthermore, lawyers and accountants who provide the services enumerated under Section 3(a)(7) of the AMLA, as amended, are considered covered persons, and must, therefore, report covered and suspicious transactions to the AMLC.

“Nonetheless, following the law, the guidelines respect the attorney-client privilege and other client confidences, and recognize that some lawyers and accountants perform these services, not as a business but as their bread and butter, or primary source of income,” AMLC said.

AMLC now requires DNFBP to register, submit deeds of undertaking to comply with the provisions of the AMLA, and to attend regular AML/CTF trainings just like money service businesses as stated under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular No. 942.

The guidelines governing DNFBP were also patterned largely after the casino implementing rules and regulations issued last October.

President Duterte signed RA 10927 placing casinos as covered persons under RA No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA) and authorized the AMLC to adopt implementing rules and regulations.

The international policy-making body Financial Action Task Force (FATF) considers both casinos, the non-financial businesses and professions as DNFBP.