Philippines to Plug Cash Laundering Holes in Casino Sector
Philippines to Plug Cash Laundering Holes in Casino Sector
The Philippines is pushing ahead with plans to tighten anti-money laundering (AML) controls in its casino sector.
The country’s gambling enterprises, which are lightly controlled by state-run operator-regulator PAGCOR, are currently exempt from the rules of its Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.
Representative Ben Evardone has endorsed legislation to include casinos that are philippine the powers of this country’s Anti-Money-Laundering Act. All that remains is to choose the transaction threshold that is reporting.
But the cyber heist in the Federal Reserve Bank of February this past year, drew the relaxed nature associated with Philippine system towards the globe’s attention and severely embarrassed the country, leading to urgent demands change not just from lawmakers inside the Philippines but also from the entire world Bank.
On February fifth, hackers flooded the Fed Bank with requests for transfers totaling nearly $1 billion from an account owned by the Bangladesh Bank and used by the us government of Bangladesh.
Around $101 million had been successfully withdrawn before suspicions were raised. Some $20 million of the sum had been quickly traced to Sri Lanka and recovered. The remainder had been transferred to Philippine bank RCBC and, from there, $46 million found its method, via a remittance company, in to the Philippine casino industry.
Time for Change
Representative Ben Evardone, chairman associated with commit