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Philippines: BSP reviews anti-money laundering compliance of banks

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is conducting an assessment of the exposure of domestic banks and other stakeholders of the financial sector to money laundering and its related offenses, terrorism and terrorist financing. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said the regulator is conducting the third anti-money laundering and combating… Read More

Philippines: Bank secrecy lifting pushed to avoid financial fraud

To avoid a repeat of cross-border financial fraud that implicated local financial institutions, it’s time for Congress to ease the antiquated bank secrecy law while the government tightens enforcement against such crimes, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said. Stephen Cutler, a security analyst and antimoney laundering consultant, noted that the… Read More

Duterte approves Anti-Terror Law giving authorities more powers

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a law giving authorities broader powers to wiretap and detain suspected terrorists that human rights officials say may result in abuses. Under the new law, police and military can arrest suspected terrorists without warrant and detain them for up to 24 days, so long… Read More

30th June 2020

Philippines promises ‘thorough’ probe of Wirecard, looking at 3 local payment firms

The Philippines’ anti-money laundering agency on Monday said it would conduct a “swift and thorough” investigation into scandal-hit German payments firm Wirecard AG and that it has drawn up an initial list of people and entities of interest. Wirecard’s collapse last week and admission that $2.1 billion of its cash… Read More

29th June 2020

Philippines: Banks tighten processes amid Wirecard scandal

Philippine banks are further tightening procedures after two of the country’s largest lenders were dragged into the reported $2.1 billion missing funds of German financial technology leader Wirecard AG. Cezar Consing, president and chief operating officer at BPI, said they are strengthening policies and programs that encourage good conduct and… Read More

24th June 2020

BaFin Efficacy Called into Question for Wirecard Handling

BaFin (Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) is under fire for failing to properly respond to multiple red flags related to an accounting fraud at Wirecard, a German payments firm which now appears to have misplaced EUR 1.9 billion. Last Thursday (18 June), Wirecard revealed that it was unable to… Read More

23rd June 2020

Wirecard says missing $2.1 billion never existed, rips up earlier accounts

Wirecard said on Monday that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) missing from its accounts was likely never there and it was looking at the sale or closure of parts of its business as it sought to avert a looming cash crunch. The former German stock market darling, which processes payments… Read More

19th June 2020

Philippines: Anti-terror bill will allow ‘humane‘ considerations in freezing of assets

While the anti-terrorism bill is seen by its supporters to give more teeth to policies countering terrorist financing, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the measure would still provide for “humane” considerations in terms of freezing assets by allowing partial withdrawal of money for humanitarian needs. In an online media forum on… Read More

16th June 2020

Philippines casinos catering to illicit Chinese gamblers are causing kidnappings and chaos in Manila

Dozens of scantily dressed Filipina croupiers stand in booths shuffling cards in front of a webcam, their faces softly illuminated by professional lighting. Nearby, rows of Chinese nationals sit at desks chatting on cellphones with potential clients back in China. This is what a typical POGO — or a Philippine… Read More

20th May 2020

Westpac dumps EY for risk review

Westpac has elected to dump EY for a review of its risk management processes three years after its last review found “known and ongoing risks” within the bank’s anti-money laundering systems including “poor data quality”, “manual workarounds” and “historical underinvestment”. The reviews are required under APRA’s CPS 220 and are… Read More

18th May 2020

Asia-Pacific drug trade thrives amid COVID-19 pandemic

Illicit drug markets in the Asia-Pacific continue to expand and diversify and appear to be largely unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak, the United Nations said on Friday. The production of methamphetamine, the most popular drug in the region, continues to hit record highs while prices fall to new lows in… Read More

15th May 2020

Australia’s Westpac admits to breaches of money-laundering laws

Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) said in a defence filing in Federal Court on Friday it was admitting to a number of failures in a case where it has been accused of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws. The country’s second largest bank admitted it had… Read More

15th April 2020

Westpac expects $900 million penalty for breaching money laundering laws

Westpac has revealed it will suffer a massive $1.4 billion hit to its first-half earnings. In a statement, Australia’s second-largest bank said the bulk of these “increased provisions” and write-downs related to the AUSTRAC money laundering scandal. The bank estimated that it might receive a $900 million fine for… Read More

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