THE number of suspicious financial transactions being monitored by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) ballooned from 287,252 in 2017 to 491,717 in 2018, an increase of over 71 percent.
Government auditors are now left wondering why the AMLC has not disclosed the 2019 figure in its financial intelligence analysis (FIA), which is a core function of the agency.
Part of the FIA is monitoring of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and covered transaction reports (CTRs) for analysis and investigation.
“Review of the Quarterly Physical Reports of Operations (QPRO) for CY 2019 showed that among AMLC’s core functions, only the FIA was without performance measures/indicators.
We observed that the STRs in CY 2017 and 2018 totaled 287,252 and 491,717, respectively, while those for CY 2019 have not yet been accounted for as of year-end,” the Commission on Audit said.
According to AMLC rules, “suspicious transactions” cover any movement of funds regardless of amount where no legal or trade obligation or economic justification exists, the client is not identified, connected to an unlawful activity or perceived to be structured to avoid scrutiny.
“Covered transactions,” on the other hand, are transfer, withdrawal or deposit of sums exceeding P500,000 or up to P1 million in the case of traders handling and trading jewelry, gems and/or precious stones.
Auditors noted that the AMLC requires covered persons to submit CTRs and STRs which is part of the government’s proactive role in combating money laundering activities as well as stopping terrorism financing.
Reacting to the audit observation, the AMLC said it will comply by revising the Budget Accountability Report or the QPRO “as soon as the ALC’s Task Force on the Amendment of the Program Expenditure Classification comes up with the final performance indicators.