Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) — With 266 votes, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a measure defining the act of bulk foreign currency smuggling and providing penalties for violators.
House Bill (HB) 8200 or the proposed Anti-Bulk Foreign Currency Smuggling Act defines the criminal offense of bulk foreign currency smuggling as the unauthorized transport or transfer of $200,000 or more if the entity isn’t registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The following are the acts of evading currency declaration:
– concealing an amount exceeding $10,000 in articles of clothing worn by the person, in luggage, merchandise or other containers;
– failing to declare the unaccompanied foreign currency;
– making a false declaration considered as fraud as defined in the bill; or
– structuring the physical cross-border transfer of foreign currency or foreign currency-denominated bearer monetary instruments, is also defined as bulk foreign currency smuggling.
HB 8200 mandates the enforcement of a written or electronic declaration system for the physical cross-border transfer of foreign currency and other foreign currency-denominated bearer monetary instruments into and out of the Philippines.
This means that a person carrying more than $10,000 or its equivalent in other currency should make a written or electronic declaration form that contains the following:
– personal information of the person transporting foreign currency; details of travel, including arrival or departure date;
– legal capacity in which the person filing the declaration is acting; information on the owner or sender, including that of the recipient, of the foreign currency;
– information on the foreign currency being transported; and
– additional information as may be required.
The measure defines fraud as the “false declaration of foreign currency or bearer monetary instruments being transported with a discrepancy of more than thirty percent (30%) between the amount declared and the amount found by the Customs Officer after examination.”
Any person found guilty of bulk foreign currency could face imprisonment of up to 14 years and a fine of up to twice the amount of the smuggled foreign currency.
The Bureau of Customs will also be required to report any incident of bulk foreign currency smuggling to the Anti-Money Laundering Council for further investigation of possible violations of laws against terrorism and money laundering.
