Anti-Money Laundering Act
Anti-Money Laundering Act
Anti-Money Laundering Act
Brief History
• Republic Act No. 9160 otherwise known as The
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 was signed
into law on September 29, 2001 and took effect
on October 17, 2001. The implementing Rules
and Regulations took effect on April 2, 2002. On
March 7, 2003, R.A. No. 9194 (An Act Amending
R.A. No. 9160) was signed into law and took
effect on March 23, 2003. The revised
Implementing Rules and Regulations took effect
on September 7, 2003.
Salient Features
• Criminalizes money laundering
• Creates a financial intelligence unit
• Imposes requirements on customer
identification, record keeping and reporting of
covered and suspicious transactions
• Relaxes strict bank deposits secrecy laws
• Provides for bank inquiry and freeze ex parte
petition/seizure/forfeiture/recovery of dirty
money/property
• Provides for international cooperation
Policy of the Law – Sec. 2
• To protect and preserve the integrity and
confidentiality of bank accounts and
• To ensure that the Philippines shall not
be used as a money laundering site for
proceeds of unlawful activity.
• Cooperate with transnational
investigations and prosecutions of
persons involved.
Covered Institutions – Sec. 3 (a)
• Institutions supervised and regulated:
• By the BSP (banks, offshore banking units, quasi
banks, trust entities, non-stock savings and loan
associations, pawnshops, etc.)
• By the Insurance Commission (insurance
companies, holding companies, etc.)
• By the SEC (securities dealers, brokers, pre-need
companies, investment houses, foreign exchange
corporations, etc.)
Obligations of Covered Institutions – Sec. 9
• Customer Identification
– True identity of clients based on official
records.
• Record Keeping
– For 5 years from the date of transaction or
date the account was closed.
• Reporting
– All covered transactions within 5 working days
from occurrence, unless the supervising
authority prescribes a longer period of not
exceeding 10 days.
Covered Transactions - Sec. 3 (b)