On 29 January 2020, the AMLC approved amendments to the 2018 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA), as amended. These amendments were published in the 31 January 2020 issue of Business World and went into effect on 1 February 2020.  The 2018 IRR amendments intend to raise the Philippines’ level of technical compliance, bringing it in line with international standards on combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

Covered persons (CPs) must update their relevant policies and procedures to reflect these amendments. A summary of the substantive changes is as follows:

• Imposition of the three (3)-day requirement from receipt of request from the beneficiary institution or appropriate authorities, for the ordering institution to make available the information accompanying the domestic wire transfer;
• Requirement that the obligation to manage risks shall likewise be applied to close relationships/associates of politically exposed persons (PEPs);
• Requirement that customers who are legal persons from higher risk countries shall be subjected to enhanced due diligence;
• Requirement for covered persons to include attempted transactions in suspicious transaction reporting;
• Requirement for covered persons to promptly file suspicious transaction reports within the next working day from occurrence thereof, which for purposes of the Rule, shall be the date of establishment of suspicion or determination of the suspicious nature of the transaction;
• Requirement for covered person to ensure that the information and documents collected in the customer due diligence (CDD) process are kept updated whenever beneficial ownership information changes; and
• Clarification on the scope of a related account.

In view of the effectivity of said amendments on 1 February 2020, CPs are advised to begin the implementation of these amendments, particularly the prompt reporting of suspicious transactions without having to wait for the pertinent interpretative guidelines, which will soon be provided under the amended AMLC Registration and Reporting Guidelines (ARRG). CPs are likewise expected to update their Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Prevention Program to align with the aforesaid amendments.

Further details of the 2018 IRR amendments are available at this link.