JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday credited the removal of the Philippines in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to the “significant strides” made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the operations of money laundering and terrorism financing groups.
In a statement, Remulla said the DOJ – Financial Investigation and Litigation Enhancement and Prosecution Support (FILEPSC) scored big in fighting financial crimes, recording and blocking 5,557 terrorism financing (TF) activities from 2020 to 2024.
He said the FILEPSC conducted 1,816 investigations related to terrorism financing during the period and acted on 1,031 tips that led to 71 arrests.
He also said prosecutors filed 237 cases, leading to the conviction of six accused for 114 counts.
On the other hand, Remulla said 13,799 money laundering investigations were conducted from 2021 to 2024 that led to the filing of 264 cases and the prosecution of 185 individuals.
“The significant increase in identifications and investigations has resulted in a sharp rise in filed cases, ensuring justice is served,” Remulla said.
Remulla said the DOJ remains steadfast in its mission to combat financial crimes while ensuring that those responsible for money laundering and terrorism financing are brought to justice.
“These milestones serve as a powerful reminder that justice can be attained through perseverance, commitment and unity. The accolade fuels our relentless pursuit for justice and vow that we will never hold back from our duties until we completely eradicate these two evils of society – money laundering and terrorism financing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero said the commitment of President Marcos Jr. to go after “dirty money” paved the way for the Philippines’ removal off the FATF grey list.
“Being removed from the grey list of the FATF is the culmination of all the efforts of the Philippine government. This sends a strong message to the international community that we are a country that abides by laws and takes the matter of going after financing of criminal elements seriously,” Escudero said.
During his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies in 2017, Escudero worked on the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act after the country was almost blacklisted by the FATF.
It was also during that time when casinos were included in the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act as recommended by FATF.
“Since then, we have continuously worked with the FATF to address the remaining obstacle to our removal from its watchlist. We thank President Marcos for making this one of his administration’s priorities, as well as the National AML/CFT Coordinating Committee led by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin from seeing this through to the end,” he said. “It is the reputation of the Philippines in the international community that is at stake here. Now that we have hurdled this long-standing obstacle, we expect to see even more investment inflows into the country, as well as easier and less expensive transactions for our OFWs wherever they are situated,” he added.
