The Philippines has been removed from an international money laundering watch list after enacting a law that brings the nation’s casinos within the scope of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act, said the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in a press release.
According to the announcement, the decision to remove the Philippines from the watch list was adopted at the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) annual meeting, held in Sri Lanka last month.
“During the annual meeting, the Philippine delegation reported to APG membership that the casino bill has been signed into law by the President,” said the AMLC in the release. “As such, the Philippines has been taken out from APG membership action,” it added. (READ SO: ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT IS GETTING FORCE IN ASIA)
The amended law requires casinos to report to the AMLC what are referred to as “covered transactions”. Gaming operators must report any single casino cash transaction that involves an amount of more than US$100,000 or its equivalent in any other currency.
