MANILA, Philippines – Inaalam na ng Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) ang posibleng pananagutan ng ilang banko sa bigong pag-uulat ng mga transaksyon na may kaugnayan sa money laundering case ni dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.
Ito ang ibinahagi ni Senador Grace Poe sa pagpapatuloy ng Senate plenary deliberations sa panukala na naglalaman ng proposed 2025 national budget.
“The AMLC opened the enforcement action proceedings against those banks involved in Alice Guo’s case to determine if they have violated the requirement under AMLA [Anti-Money Laundering Act] to file STRs [suspicious transaction reports] with the AMLC,” sinabi ni Poe sa interperlasyon ni Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros.
“These proceedings are ongoing and should the AMLC find that they indeed violated the said requirement, the AMLC will file formal charges against said banks or they may be liable for fines ranging from P50,000 to P500,000 per transaction but not exceeding P10 to P20 million depending on the attendant circumstances,” dagdag pa niya.
Ayon kay Poe, ito ay “without prejudice” sa posibleng criminal liability kung “their officers are found to have knowingly facilitated the crime of money laundering.”
Kasabay ng paggiit sa pangangailangang maiwasan, sinabi ni Poe na “we are looking forward to AMLC’s cases that they’ll actually be able to prosecute those that may be found to have caused these money laundering activities.”
Ipinaliwanag naman ng AMLC sa pamamagitan ni Poe, na hindi nila na-detect ang transaksyon patungkol umano’y POGO operations sa Bamban, Tarlac dahil sa bigong pagpasa ng suspicious transaction reports (STRs) sa council.
“Because of the failure of some covered persons to report through STRs and this is also where it will come into play where the bank representative might have to be investigated as well,” ani Poe.
“But, of course, we can’t rely solely on what’s being reported. That’s why I think if we have an objective system such as the computerization of the categories then it will also prompt members of the AMLC to look into it ahead of time, be more proactive. But again there might be some connivance between their banks, the local representatives of the banks and also those covered individuals,” pagpapatuloy ng senador.
Samantala, sinabi ni Poe na 87 kaso sa 183 kaso na inihain sa AMLC mula sa una hanggang ikatlong quarter ng 2024 ay may kaugnayan sa Bamban POGO hub. RNT/JGC
