SEC seeks private sector help in fight vs money laundering

MANILA, Philippines - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is urging the private sector to participate in the country’s campaign against dirty money and terrorist financing.

In a circular, the corporate regulator directed all regulated entities to participate and support in the conduct of a national risk assessment for money laundering and terrorism financing.

“In order to complete the information on money laundering and terrorism financing risks, private sector is important as they are sources of valuable information,” the SEC said.

The national risk assessment is an organized and systematic effort aimed at identifying and evaluating the sources and methods of money laundering and terrorist financing as well as weaknesses in the anti-money and counter-terrorist financing systems of the country.

The Philippines, as a member of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and in compliance with international standards on combatting money laundering and terrorist financing, has been told by the APG to conduct a national risk assessment.

In June, a working group headed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council and participated by various government agencies including the SEC, was formed with a P2-million initial funding to undertake the assessment.

The SEC said the working group and its various sub-working groups are currently in the process of gathering data and information in order to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the national of money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

“In this regard, all regulated entities are directed to furnish information/data or to provide such other information as may be required by the national risk assessment working group or its various sub-working groups, subject to applicable laws and regulations,” the SEC said.

Under the international standards on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, countries are required to identify and understand risks and are mandated to apply a risk-based approach for the mitigation of the illicit activity.

Money laundering, as defined by the APG, is an act by which illicit funds are made to appear legitimate or the “turning of dirty money into clean money.”

APG said money laundering presents not only a problem for criminal justice systems globally but also serves as a macro-economic problem with its capacity to destabilize financial institutions and financial systems.