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New AMLC rules on beneficial ownership intended for financial transparency
To promote financial transparency, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued for the first time guidelines on beneficial ownership for all banks, insurance companies, and other covered persons. Covered persons include entities, businesses, casinos and professions subject to the authority and jurisdiction of the AMLC on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) matters.
“Beneficial owners” refers to those individuals or natural persons who ultimately own or control the customer, or those for whom another person conducts a transaction. Money launderers and terrorists routinely use the cloak of anonymity to prevent the AMLC and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to track them down. In the case of the AMLC, they also seek to avoid freezing and forfeiture of their assets obtained through criminal activities.
In many well-publicized cases, criminal elements and a number of high-ranking public figures have used dummies, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals, to hide their identities. These criminals then use these dummies to conduct multiple financial transactions involving multiple accounts in the millions of pesos, thereby blurring the illegal source of the funds.
Read more: New AMLC rules on beneficial ownership intended for financial transparency
