Philippines

Reset Filter

Jurisdictions

Industry Sectors

Predicate Crimes

Enforcement

Regulatory Update

Featured Philippines

Shadowy operators power Duterte’s offshore gaming boom

It has created 470,000 jobs. It contributes over $11 billion to the economy. It has even sparked a diplomatic clash with China. The strange thing is, nobody is sure who fully owns it. It’s not as though the Philippine offshore gaming operators who are transforming Manila, known collectively as POGOs,… Read More

Pogos refusing to report red flags face money laundering rap, penalties, says AMLC

Investors in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos) are also required to report suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to prevent the growing online casino industry, catering mainly to Chinese players, from becoming a conduit for money laundering. At the Senate finance committee hearing on AMLC’s proposed 2020 budget,… Read More

RCBC accused of suppressing evidence in money laundering case

The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) was accused Tuesday of suppressing evidence in the money laundering case against some of its current and former officials. A Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor and legal officers of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat made the accusation, a copy of the motion obtained… Read More

2nd September 2019

Duterte to consider Xi request to ban online casinos

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will study the possibility of winding down the country’s booming offshore gambling industry after Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the subject at summit meeting in Beijing on Thursday. Known as Philippine Online Gaming Operators, or Pogos, the industry is mainly aimed at China, where gambling is… Read More

28th August 2019

Philippines to study economic impact of halting online gambling

The Philippines’ anti-money laundering body is studying the scope of the country’s online gambling industry to determine the impact on the economy if it stopped operating, its chairman said on Tuesday. Benjamin Diokno, who is governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and head of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, has… Read More

23rd August 2019

China urges Philippines to ban online gambling

China has said it hopes the Philippines will ban online gaming to support its crackdown on cross-border gambling, which it said foreign criminals had used to embezzle funds and illegally recruit workers. The Philippine gaming regulator has banned licenses for new online gaming firms, as lawmakers and some ministers have… Read More

13th March 2019

Philippines’ RCBC sues ‘vicious’ Bangladesh Bank over heist claim

A Philippine bank has filed a lawsuit accusing Bangladesh’s central bank of defamation, hitting back at what it says are baseless claims of its complicity in the world’s biggest cyber heist. In February 2016, criminals used fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh… Read More

4th February 2019

SWIFT says helping Bangladesh Bank rebuild network after cyber heist

International payments network SWIFT said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with Bangladesh’s central bank to help it rebuild its infrastructure after hackers used it to steal $81 million in 2016 in the world’s biggest cyber heist. Unidentified hackers, suspected to be from North Korea, carried out the heist… Read More

31st January 2019

Bangladesh to sue Manila bank over $81 million cyber heist: cenbank governor

Bangladesh will file a lawsuit in a U.S. court on Wednesday against Philippine bank Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) over its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, the Bangladesh central bank governor said. In February 2016, unknown criminals used fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system to steal… Read More

12th November 2018

Philippines’ ex-first lady Imelda Marcos to appeal court’s graft ruling

The Philippines’ anti-corruption court on Friday ordered the arrest of former first lady Imelda Marcos after finding her guilty on seven counts of graft during the two-decade rule of her husband and former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. But Marcos, 89, famous for a huge collection of shoes, jewellery and artwork, can… Read More

2nd April 2018

Malaysian central bank SWIFT network targeted, Philippine banks ‘alert’

The Philippine central bank issued a notice to its banks to be ‘extra careful’ during the holiday following a cyber attack at Malaysia’s central bank. On Tuesday Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) identified a cyber attack which is understood to have involved ‘falsified wire-transfer requests over the SWIFT bank messaging network,’… Read More

5th February 2018

Money laundering: Philippine Senator seeks legislative probe of Duterte’s transactions

A Philippine senator and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday filed a resolution seeking a legislative inquiry into whether Duterte and his eldest daughter had concealed assets amounting to almost $2 million. Senator Antonio Trillanes asked the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies to probe deposits… Read More

8th December 2017

Bangladesh Bank, NY Fed discuss suing Manila bank for heist damages

Bangladesh’s central bank has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to join a lawsuit it plans to file against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, several sources said. The Fed is yet to respond formally, but there… Read More

Must Read

The Vienna Bank Job

EU committee demands end to passport sales

BOV fined for money laundering breaches in two cases

Miami professor who wrote book on organized crime laundered millions in dirty money, feds say

Estonian FSA drops Swedbank probe, criminal investigation continues