Duterte expected to quickly sign legislation
The Philippines could soon add casinos to the list of businesses subject to the country’s anti-money laundering statutes.
The Senate could approve its bill in May, with the lower house of Congress looking at its version of the legislation at the same time, said Senate President Aquilino Pimentel.
According to the Reuters news agency, under the proposed amendment casinos would be required to report to the country’s anti-money laundering body any accumulated bets totaling 3 million pesos (US$60,000) within 24 hours.
The change follows the 2016 cyber-heist of some $81 million from the Bangladesh banking system; the money was drawn from the country’s account at the New York Federal Reserve and then funneled through Philippine casinos.
“The pending bill is one of the products of the senate investigation,” Pimentel told reporters. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to quickly sign the legislation.
The Bangladesh Central Bank has recovered less than one-fifth of the stolen funds, Reuters reported.
