The Philippines has made eight “key reforms” to strengthen the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering (AML) and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
That is according to a Friday update from the France-based watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), referring to the Philippines’ status on its “grey list” of countries requiring additional monitoring for such risk to its financial system.
Such reforms included “demonstrating that supervisors are using AML/CFT controls to mitigate risks associated with casino junkets,” said the watchdog.
The Philippines is one of the few countries in AsiaPacific to have not only a licensed casino industry open to locals, but also a licensed online gaming sector.
The FATF update said: “At its October 2024 plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that the Philippines has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment to verify that the implementation of AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future.”
The Philippines was added to the grey list in June 2021. Jurisdictions on the FATF grey list can “experience a disruption in capital flows”, according to a research paper by the International Monetary Fund.
On Friday the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) issued a statement heralding the FATF’s update.
It said the FATF’s Asia/Pacific Joint Group will visit the Philippines early next year, adding that the country had “moved closer to exiting anti-money laundering watchlists by 2025”.
The council stated the visit would “verify the sustainability of the AML/CTF reforms towards addressing the 18 action plan items as well as the high-level political commitment of the Philippine government to continue improving the Philippines’ AML/CTPF regime”.
The statement added: “This is the final step toward the country’s removal from the grey list.”
Lucas Bersamin, the council’s executive secretary, was cited as saying in the statement, that the Friday announcement from the FATF was a “testament to the hard work and coordination across government agencies”.
He added: “It reflects our strong commitment to meeting the FATF’s stringent standards and ensuring the long-term protection of our financial system. We are confident that this progress will be affirmed during the on-site visit.”
