Philippine lawmaker calls for AMLC to investigate POGOs

Joel Chua says the Anti-Money Laundering Council should be involved due to cybercrime risks.

The Philippines.- Manila Representative Joel Chua has said that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) should be involved in investigations of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). He said the AMLC could be fundamental to the investigations’ effectiveness amid cybercrime risks and potential vulnerabilities.

Chua added that the knowledge and insights gained from examining offshore gaming could enhance AMLC’s ability to detect suspicious transactions with potential ties to money laundering, large-scale scams and other criminal activities.

Chua raised concerns about the potential exploitation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology by criminal syndicates to evade the regulatory thresholds established by anti-money laundering and cybercrime laws. He said an existing PHP500,000 threshold for banking transactions and PHP5m threshold for single casino transactions might not suffice if AI-driven tactics are employed to evade detection.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has recommended the shutdown of POGOs, as has Philippine finance secretary Benjamin Diokno, citing reputational risk and social costs. However, senator Francis Escudero, leader of the Philippine Senate Committee on Finance, said not should be penalised for the actions of a few.