​Back on the grey list

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 29 Jun 2021 by Romeo Bernardo

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At the end of its plenary on June 25, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that it is adding the Philippines to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, widely referred to as the “grey list.” The latest list contains 22 countries and includes only two other Southeast Asian nations, Cambodia and Myanmar. Inclusion in the grey list does not carry sanctions but publicizes remaining deficiencies in the country’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and its commitment to resolve these within agreed timeframes. Satisfactory progress in addressing the deficiencies will lead to removal from the FATF grey list while non-compliance risks landing the country in the dreaded “black list” or high risk jurisdictions subject to countermeasures. Based on the assessment of BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Philippines can expect delisting not earlier than January 2023, a good 18 months away.The Philippines was on the FATF black list[1] for almost five years from 2000 to 2005 and was removed only after the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), passed in 2001 that criminalized money laundering and created the AMLC, took effect[2]. It landed on the grey list in 2010 and was removed in 2013 after various measures were taken to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, including legislation amending the AMLA and criminalizing terrorist financing[3]. It has since avoided the FATF’s increased scrutiny (even after the Bangladesh bank heist in 2016[4]) through incremental improvements in its AML/CFT regime, including the coverage of casinos under the AMLA Law.This time around, the grey listing happe...