BIR, AMLC partner to combat money laundering

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) have inked an accord on cooperation in combating money laundering activities.

In a statement on Tuesday, the BIR said it entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with AMLC on October 13, 2022.

The MOA was signed by BIR Commissioner Lilia Guillermo and AMLC Executive Director Matthew David.

The taxman said the MOA “aims to promote and encourage cooperation and coordination to effectively prevent, control, detect, investigate, and prosecute money laundering activities, terrorism financing, and unlawful activities in the country.”

Under the agreement, the BIR said the AMLC may enlist the assistance of the tax collection agency in the “detection and investigation of money laundering activities and other violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), as amended, terrorism financing and prosecution of offenders, particularly on the violation of Section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997 (Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax), as amended, as a predicate offense to money laundering where the final assessment is in excess of P25,000,000.”

The BIR, on the other hand, may request for financial information, including bank records, in relation to any violation of laws that the BIR is tasked to implement, which would give rise to the commission of any unlawful activity (money laundering activities and terrorism financing), which is a violation of Section 254 of the NIRC of 1997(Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax), as amended, where the final assessment is in excess of P25,000,000.

The taxman said requests from the agency shall include an evaluation of the case under investigation and/or disclosure of all relevant information necessary for the AMLC to properly process the requests, including but not limited to the following:

• A description of the suspicious activities under analysis and the basis for the suspicion
• Details of the persons or companies involved as well as the transactions and the accounts used
• The information requested and the purpose for which it will be used
• Range of the period to be analyzed.

The AMLC and BIR shall, likewise, cooperate in the areas of information exchange and capacity building measures to enhance their capability in addressing the said unlawful activities.

The AMLC is the primary government agency mandated by law to implement and enforce the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended, and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.

These laws were issued to ensure that the Philippines shall not be used as money laundering haven for the proceeds of any unlawful activity to protect the life, liberty, and property from acts of terrorism by condemning terrorism and those who support and finance it.—AOL, GMA News