Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 20) — A new law requires casinos to “know sufficiently” their customers, in a bid to combat crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
This is highlighted in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act no. 10927, which amends the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001. The IRR was released on Friday.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law last July 14, imposing sanctions on casinos if the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) finds them involved in unlawful activity. Casinos refer to businesses engaged in gaming operations, including ship-based and internet-based ones.
“Casinos shall be regulated to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as undermining the Philippine financial system,” Section 4 of the IRR states.
Casinos are ordered to “know sufficiently their customer to prevent suspicious individuals or entities from transacting with, or establishing or maintaining relationship with casinos.”
They must establish a system to verify the identities of their customers and record their details, which must include their name, date and place of birth, current address, permanent address, contact information, nationality, proof of identification and ID number, nature of work or business, name of employer, and source of funds.
Amendments to the anti-money laundering law were pushed when, in February 2016, some $81 million (approximately P4 billion) was siphoned from the Bangladesh central bank and was laundered into the Philippines through casinos and other financial institutions.
Read: PH gov’t vows to help Bangladesh recover stolen cash
For “politically exposed persons,” or those who are incumbent or former officials in the government, a foreign country, or an international organization, casinos are required to record identities of immediate family members and entities publicly known to be related to them.
Using relevant information, casinos are then mandated to assess if a customer poses low, normal, or high risk of being engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing.
Based on the risk level, casinos or AMLC and other government regulatory agencies, “shall set the standards in applying reduced, normal, and enhanced customer diligence, including a set of conditions for the denial of account opening or services.”
Agencies that regulate gaming operations include the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport, and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
The law also says, single cash transactions of casinos in excess of P5 million or its equivalent in any other currency, must be reported immediately to the AMLC.
If the AMLC finds that a casino may be involved in unlawful activity, “the Court of Appeals may issue a freeze order which shall be effective immediately, for a period of 20 days.”
The AMLC oversees anomalous financial activities in the country and is chaired by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor.
