A liaison officer and secretary to the president of a chemical trader-distributor was convicted for fifty-five (55) counts of money laundering based on investigative findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

In a fifty-six (56)-page Decision promulgated on 18 April 2018, Presiding Judge Caridad M. Walse-Lutero of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Quezon City, found Annabella C. Ylagan guilty beyond reasonable doubt for fifty-five (55) counts of money laundering, and sentenced her to seven (7) years’ imprisonment for each count. 

The AMLC, the country’s financial intelligence unit (FIU) and enforcer of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended (AMLA), proved that Ylagan transferred funds from her employer’s accounts in three (3) banks to a bank account she opened under fictitious bank accounts under the name “Lourdes R. Liu” and a company purportedly created by Ylagan. Ylagan’s modus operandi involved routing faxing of forged letters of authority, instructing banks to transfer funds from her employer’s accounts to her own fictitious accounts. Ylagan amassed Php12 million over a four (4)-year period.

Read more: AMLC Secures 55 Convictions for Money Laundering against company secretary

In its Resolution No. 59, dated 9 May 2018, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) approved the adoption of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) Guidelines for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs). Said Guidelines are based on Republic Act (RA) No. 10365, which included as covered persons jewelry dealers in precious stones and metals; company service providers who deliver fund/securities management services for other persons, and persons and entities who, as a business, provide services to organize, create and manage companies and arrangements.

The Guidelines for DNFBPs were patterned largely after the “Casino Implementing Rules and Regulations” (CIRR), which the AMLC approved on 11 October 2017. Republic Act (RA) No. 10927, approved on 14 July 2017, included casinos as covered persons under RA No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA) and authorized the AMLC to adopt implementing rules and regulations. Both casinos the non-financial businesses and professions above are considered DNFBPs by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international policy-making body that sets standards and promotes effective implementation of measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

DNFBP AML-CFT Regulatory Guidelines  click here 

Read more: AMLC ADOPTS ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COUNTER-TERRORISM FINANCING GUIDELINES FOR DNFBPs

On 6 June 2018, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte appointed Atty. Emilio Benito Aquino as the new Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Chairperson Aquino took his oath of office on the same day and now joins the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as it newest Member. Under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended, the AMLC shall be composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor as Chairman, and the Insurance Commissioner and the SEC Chairperson as Members.

 Chairperson Aquino replaces outgoing SEC Chairperson Teresita J. Herbosa, whose seven-year term ended on 11 March 2018. She continued to serve in a holdover capacity, however, until Chairperson Aquino’s appointment.

 Previously, Chairperson Aquino served as the Supervising Commissioner on Enforcement, Human Resources, and Administration and as the youngest director of the SEC’s former Prosecution and Enforcement and Non-Traditional Securities and Instruments Departments. While practicing public accountancy and law, he also taught commercial law at Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Western Mindanao State University for over a decade.

 In 1984, he graduated magna cum laude and valedictorian at the University of Zamboanga with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, major in Accounting. He received a rating of 89.14% in the Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination. He completed his law studies at San Beda College and placed 16th in the 1992 bar exams.