PH effectively implementing anti-money laundering law: Palace

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque gave the guarantee after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Sunday that the USD2.1 billion missing from German payment firm Wirecard AG did not enter the Philippines’ financial system. (PCOO file photo)

MANILA – The government is ensuring the effective implementation of Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), Malacañang said on Tuesday, after the two largest banks in the country have been dragged into the controversial Wirecard scandal.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque gave the guarantee after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Sunday that the USD2.1 billion missing from German payment firm Wirecard AG did not enter the Philippines’ financial system.

“Kaya nga po hindi makakapasok iyan ay dahil tayo naman po ay talagang nagpapatupad po ng ating Anti-Money Laundering legislation (That will not enter our country because we are really implementing our Anti-Money Laundering legislation),” Roque said in a virtual press briefing aired on state-run PTV-4.

Wirecard AG’s shares plummeted last week after it was reported that around USD2.1 billion of its funds had gone missing.

According to reports, Wirecard’s external auditors at Ernst and Young found the missing funds were funneled into “two Asian banks” which were later identified as BDO Unibank and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

BDO and BPI, however, both denied involvement with Wirecard woes, and stressed that bank documents pertaining to the presence of the missing money were “spurious.”

Roque backed the BSP and the two local banks’ statements.

“Nilinaw po ng Bangko Sentral at nung dalawang bangkong involved — BDO at BPI — na wala pong katotohanan ‘yun (The Bangko Sentral and the two banks involved have already clarified that there is no truth to that),” he said.

Roque also emphasized that the Philippines is known for having an “effective” AMLA.

“Hindi na po tayo tagged ng international community as one of the areas na mahina magpatupad ng anti-money laundering regulations (We are no longer tagged by the international community as one of the areas with weak anti-money laundering regulations),” he said.

RA 9160 mandates the state to protect and preserve the integrity and confidentiality of bank accounts and to ensure that the Philippines will not be used as a money laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activity.