More flexible AMLC sought

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker from Manila yesterday pushed for the amendment of Republic Act (RA) 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, to allow flexibility for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) so that the agency could adjust the threshold of covered transactions.

Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said that RA 9160 should be amended so that the council “can be at least at pace with or faster than the criminals.”

Chua cited the growing industry of online gambling and gaming operations.

Under the law, the current money laundering threshold is P500,000 in a banking day and at least P5 million for casino cash transactions. The minimum threshold for single cash transaction of real estate developers and brokers is pegged at P7.5 million.

The lawmaker noted that if criminal syndicates are “using artificial intelligence (AI) software to evade our anti-money laundering and cybercrime laws ... the thresholds may not be enough because AI technology could allow the criminals to evade detection by not just staying under the legal thresholds, but also by breaking up the amounts to make it appear there is no suspicious pattern of activity.”

“Using a combo of AI and other technologies, scammers and money launderers could easily evade the safeguards and monitoring of banks, e-payment apps and the AMLC,” he said.

He added that criminal transactions through online payments and transfers happen within seconds and minutes – more than enough time for criminals to move money in amounts that are under the reportable covered transactions.

“The AMLC should be among the agencies involved in investigating the licensed and unlicensed POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) and other online gaming/gambling schemes prevalent now in cyberspace via various electronic devices,” Chua said.