Thailand
Philippines: Reported suspicious bank transactions surge
Reported suspicious current and savings accounts or CASA transactions in the country have surged in the last three years.
This is according to the latest assessment of the Philippines‘ exposure to external and internal threaths based on suspicious transaction reports (STR) for 2018-2020 by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
In the assessment released on Wednesday, AMLC said the annual amount of money laundered globally is projected to be between $800 billion and $2 trillion, or roughly P41.088 trillion to P102.72 trillion, based on United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates.
The total amount of STRs covered in this assessment accounts for 0.006 percent to 0.014 percent of total global money laundered in 2018, 0.010 percent to 0.026 percent in 2019, and 0.033 percent to 0.083 percent in 2020, assuming the STRs in the study have a possible linkage to a specific crime.
The country’s financial intelligence unit said, “This is an indication that there is an increasing trend in the reported suspicious CASA transactions every year.”
In terms of transaction frequency, predicate crimes, such as Securities Regulation Code (SRC) violations, swindling, and child exploitation activities account for the bulk of the total STRs covered in the report, accounting for 39.19 percent, 26.68 percent, and 17.99 percent, respectively.
Swindling accounts for 70.82 percent of the total peso value of all STRs studied, while SRC violations account for 12.89 percent and drug-related activities at 6.91 percent.
“Proceeds from majority of the high-risk and medium-risk predicate crimes have originated, circulated, and remained within the Philippine financial system except for child exploitation, child pornography, and terrorism-related activities,” the AMLC continued.
It went on to say that illicit finances for child exploitation, child pornography, and terrorism-related activities come from other nations, with the Philippines being the final destination.
SRC violations (P6.43 billion), swindling (P5.96 billion), drug trafficking (P3.43 billion), E-Commerce Act violations (P1.33 billion), and corruption-related crimes (P1.2 billion) are the top contributors in terms of amount created for proceeds that originated, circulated, and remained within the Philippines.
AMLC said 52,022 international inward remittances from possible and identified sources are being assessed for inflows.
In terms of transaction frequency, the top countries posing the greatest threat to the Philippines for inflows are the United States with 38 percent, Saudi Arabia with 9 percent, and United Kingdom with 8 percent; while the US with 19 percent, Hong Kong with 12 percent, and Kenya with 7 percent top the list for outflows.
In terms of peso value, the major sources of inward remittances are the United Kingdom with 32 percent, the US with 23 percent, and Belgium with 12 percent; whereas the top destinations for outward remittances are Hong Kong with 29 percent, USA with 16 percent, and China with 14 percent.
It was also noticed that banks are the most common financial routes used by criminals and money launderers to move criminal gains, particularly when large sums of money are involved, according to AMLC.
It added that money service businesses and pawnshops with remittance capabilities are also being used to transmit illicit funds for small-ticket transactions.
“As the STRs are merely indicative of suspicious transactions, they need further verification and more in-depth investigations to substantiate likely linkage to a certain crime or unlawful offense covered by the AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Act), as amended,” AMLC concluded.
Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/08/business/top-business/reported-suspicious-bank-transactions-surge/1806211