Philippine casinos to report suspicious transactions
Casinos in the Asian country will have to report suspicious financial transactions if a bill gets passed.
Philippines.- Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr from Quezon City introduced a bill in order to make it necessary for land based and online casinos to report suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. The House Bill 14 is also known as the Casino Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Act.
The casinos that are currently operated by Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, or another official regulator, would have be subject to the law if it gets approved. “The significance of including the casino sector under the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Law was underscored by the Bangladesh Bank heist. The funds entered the Philippine banking system and made their way to local casinos and junket operators, where the money was reportedly laundered and transferred overseas,” said Belmonte.
According to the member of the Philippine House of Representatives, this bill will address this deficiency by putting the necessary amendments to discourage the use of the casinos as avenues of illicit activity. House Bill 14 cares about the nature of the transaction, despite of the value of it, and it dictates that all transactions that involve more than US$82.500 need to be reported.
