Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Congress should consider giving Anti-Money Laundering Council power to issue temporary hold order on bank accounts that may be linked to illegal activities, Senator Teofisto Guingona, who’s heading investigation on $81m stolen funds from Bangladesh, says at forum in Manila.

• It took council ~20 days to have bank accounts frozen by court, by then accounts used to channel stolen $81m had been emptied
• “The council has to be empowered to act fast. We should look into AMLC’s power to issue cease and desist orders for a period of time before they can get a court order to freeze certain accounts,” Guingona says
• Banks proven to have had poor safety standards must be penalized
• International community watching if Philippines has resolve to implement an effective anti-money laundering law
• “It’s incumbent upon us to really plug big legislative loophole” of excluding casinos from coverage, Guingona says; adds there was strong lobby to exclude casinos from dirty-money coverage when lawmakers deliberating on law’s revision in 2012
• NOTE: How $81 Million Slipped Through Philippine Cracks: Timeline Link