BSP says more time is needed to address dirty money watchdog's concerns

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday said the Philippines needs more time to implement measures taken against money laundering and terrorist financing, after the country was again included in the latest dirty money list.

According to the BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, the country has adopted compliant laws and regulations, but this is not sufficient.

“The Philippines needs time to implement them to demonstrate the effectiveness of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism,” he said in a mobile message to reporters.

The statement comes after the country was included in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released last Friday.

The grey list covers countries subjected to higher surveillance to prove its progress against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The country was removed from the list in 2005, and was again included in the latest list along with Haiti, Malta, and South Sudan.

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela in February said the Philippines will apply for a re-rating from the FATF following the passage of several measures.

Among the measures passed are revisions to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the controversial Anti-Terrorism Law.

The FATF rates countries based on 40 recommendations with four ratings — largely compliant; compliant; partially compliant; and non-compliant.

“[T]he Philippines has been working relentlessly to address the deficiencies identified in the 2018 Mutual Evaluation even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Diokno.

“We remain strongly committed to swiftly resolve the remaining strategic deficiencies (18 from the original 70) within agreed timeframes,” he added.

The BSP governor also noted that there are no sanctions for jurisdictions under increased monitoring.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso retreated against its US counterpart on Monday, dragged by the inclusion of the Philippines in the dirty money list.

The local currency lost 16.4 centavos to close at P48.645:$1 versus last Friday’s finish of P48.481:$1. —KG, GMA News