Philippines removed from FATF grey list
The FATF said the Philippines made significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime.
The Philippines.- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that the Philippines has been removed from its grey list of countries. The Philippines had been on the list since June 2021 and subject to closer monitoring as a result.
In a statement on Friday (February 21), the FATF said: “The FATF Plenary congratulated the Philippines for the positive progress in addressing the strategic anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) deficiencies previously identified during their mutual evaluations. The Philippines has completed their Action Plan to resolve the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and will no longer be subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process.
“The Philippines should continue to work with the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering of which it is a member to sustain its improvements in its AML/CFT system. The FATF encourages the Philippines to continue its work in ensuring that its CFT measures are appropriately applied, particularly the identification and prosecution of TF cases, and are neither discouraging nor disrupting legitimate NPO activity.”
In October, the FATF said that the country had addressed all 18 deficiencies identified in its AML/CFT controls.
In a statement, Alejandro Tengco, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), said: “We are honoured to have played a crucial part in this development, and the public can rest assured that PAGCOR will continue to ensure that all our licensees are compliant with all anti-money laundering rules and regulations.
“We also commit to sustaining the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in the entire Philippine gaming industry, including our online gaming operators, land-based casinos and junket operators.”
Tengco said much of the state gaming firm’s AML efforts are handled by two key units: The PAGCOR Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Enforcement Department (PASED) and the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Department or ACD.
He noted: “Rest assured that your PASED and ACD teams will work even harder, together with other departments and our licensees, to ensure that we never go back to the grey list.”
