Despite the initial success of the country’s implementation plan, BSP Governor Rafael Buenaventura said the submission of the implementation plan was only the beginning of the lengthy process of being removed from the FATF’s list of non-cooperative countries and territories (NCCTs).
According to Buenaventura, who is also co-chairman of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the FATF plans to evaluate the actual implementation of the plan and the conduct of all concerned branches of government.
"Basically, they have seen the implementation plan and they’ve made some suggestions although it was generally accepted as a good plan," Buenaventura said.
However, Buenaventura said the FATF is also concerned about the compliance of the covered institutions and how they report covered and suspicious transactions.
"They also want to see how regulators are handling these reported transactions and if they find cases that merit investigation, how effective is the process of building up a case against violators," Buenaventura said. "This then becomes a matter that concerns not just the AMLC but the whole body of regulators."
The FATF evaluation, Buenaventura pointed out, will not stop at the investigation stage but go on through the prosecution process and trial.
"In instances of prosecution, the FATF would also want to see how our judiciary carries out its mandate of adjudicating money-laundering cases," he said. "Clearly the plan is not enough. We have to show that we can implement it."
Ultimately, Buenaventura said the FATF would also have to look at the adequacy of the country’s anti-money laundering law. "At the moment, the FATF generally feels that we appear to comply with their minimum requirements."
Buenaventura raised the possibility that the FATF would ask for "some clarification" that would have to be addressed by the legislature although he stopped short of saying that further amendments might be necessary.
The AMLC earlier said that eventually, Congress will have to include graft and corruption, tax evasion, child prostitution and violations of environmental laws as predicate crimes under the Anti Money Laundering Law in order to comply with the revised recommendations of the FATF.
According to AMLC executive director Vic Aquino, the Revised 40 Recommendations of the FATF expanded the list of predicate crimes to include tax evasion, child prostitution, violations of environmental laws and even graft and corruption.
Predicate crimes are crimes that would trigger immediate investigation by financial intelligence units such as the AMLC.
The significance of being listed as a predicate crime is the ease with which the FIUs could probe into the finances of any entity once they are suspected of being involved in these crimes.
The legal process involved in the investigation of funds and finances is essentially simplified and expedited by the anti-money laundering laws, making it easier to stop the flow of money to and from these illegal activities.