The Anti-Money Laundering Council hopes to persuade Congress to amend again the law against dirty money transactions, saying that the continued exclusion of casinos from a list of establishments required to report their financial activities has been hurting the Philippines’ image abroad.
“Who is persecuting whom?” Businessman Roberto V. Ongpin snapped back at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr.
Businessman Roberto Ongpin has urged lawmakers to consider amending the current law against money laundering, saying that the law, in its current form, can easily be abused for political ends.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña has defended the inclusion of real estate transactions on the list of activities that need to be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council if they involve an outright cash payment of $10,000 or P420,000.
Creative ways of “dry cleaning” instead of merely laundering stolen money have urged senators to eye the expansion of the list of institutions required to report purchases and other transactions involving P500,000 and above.
