MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan pushed yesterday for a “unified” and “concerted” effort among government agencies in the fight against money laundering.
“Let’s have an agreement between all government instrumentalities spearheading this campaign. We must use the modern technology available to us in fighting this menace,” he said in a statement.
Libanan proposed that the member-agencies of the National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee be engaged in a continuous sharing of information, saying that it is a key to stopping and preventing money gained from illegal means from being funneled into legitimate businesses.
He assured that the BI’s records can always be accessed by the committee’s member-agencies and are available for use in filing charges against individuals suspected of engaging in money laundering, considered as a transnational crime.
He tasked the BI-Interpol unit and other law enforcement units of the bureau to regularly update the NALECC on cases of arrest of foreigners involved in tax fraud and other money-related crimes. – Helen Flores, Rudy Santos