Last week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the country’s gaming regulator and other government agencies to “review and assess” their operational checklists and amend them as needed to get the country off the “grey list” of countries with inadequate anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) measures.
Three times a year, the global Financial Action Task Force, based in Paris, issues a “black list” and “grey list” of nations it believes are deficient in preventing the crimes. The most recent black list, published in June, was limited to three high-risk jurisdictions: North Korea, Myanmar and Iran.
The “grey list” was much longer and included Vietnam, Uganda, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria as well as the Philippines.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, a Marcos memorandum issued on October 24 ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to pursue “urgent implementation” of the National AML/CTF and Counter-Proliferation Financing Strategy of 2023-2027.
The guidelines were established after the country first landed on the grey list in June 2021. At that time, FATF said the Philippines needed to strengthen AML/CTF controls around casino junkets and also improve communications with financial institutions. Originally, the country was given until January 2023 to prove that it could be removed from the list. But the deadline was extended by 12 months until 2024.
The new memo calls for PAGCOR and other agencies to actively participate in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. The country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council said the directive “reflects the Philippines’ commitment to international standards in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, reiterating that the Philippines will not tolerate money laundering or terrorism financing and will cooperate in transnational investigations and prosecutions.”
According to the FATF website, publicly identifying countries at risk has proven effective. As of this year, FATF has reviewed over 125 countries and jurisdictions and publicly identified 98 of them. Of the 98, 72 have since made the necessary reforms to address their AML/CFT weaknesses and have been removed from the lists.
