AMLA

Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001,to RA
9194 (An act Amending RA 9160)
Money laundering is a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity are transacted,
thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources. It is committed by the
following:

(a) Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property represents,
involves, or relates to, the proceeds of any unlawful activity, transacts or attempts to
transact said monetary instrument or property.

(b) Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property involves the
proceeds of any unlawful activity, performs or fails to perform any act as a result of
which he facilitates the offense of money laundering referred to in paragraph (a)
above.

(c) Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property is required under
this Act to be disclosed and filed with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC),
fails to do so.

3 stages:
Placement The physical disposal of cash or other assets derived from criminal
activity.(Breaking up large amounts of cash into smaller sums and depositing them
directly into a bank account.)
Layering The separation of illicit proceeds from their source by layers of financial
transactions intended to conceal the origin of the proceeds.(Sending wire transfers
of funds from one account to another, sometimes to or from other institutions or
jurisdictions.)
Step Three: Integration Supplying apparent legitimacy to illicit wealth through the
re-entry of the funds into the economy in what appears to be normal business or
personal transactions.(Invest the funds in real estate, financial ventures or luxury
assets.)

Covered Institutions:
Banks, offshore banking units, quasi-banks, trust entities, nonstock savings and loan
associations, pawnshops, and all other institutions, including their subsidiaries and
affiliates supervised and/or regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Insurance companies, insurance agents, insurance brokers,
professional reinsurers, reinsurance brokers, holding companies, holding company
systems and all other persons and entities supervised and/or regulated by the
Insurance Commission (IC).

"Unlawful activity" refers to any act or omission or series or combination thereof

involving or having relation to the following:

(1) Kidnapping for ransom under Article 267 of Act No. 3815, otherwise known as
the Revised Penal Code, as amended;

(2) Drug trafficking and related offenses Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of Article Two
of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs
Act of 1972;
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(3) Graft and Corrupt Practices Section 3 paragraphs B, C, E, G, H and I of
Republic Act No. 3019, as amended; otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act;

(4) Plunder under Republic Act No. 7080, as amended;

(5) Robbery and extortion under Articles 294, 295, 296, 299, 300, 301 and 302 of
the Revised Penal Code, as amended;

(6) Jueteng and Masiao punished as illegal gambling under Presidential Decree No.
1602;

(7) Piracy on the high seas under the Revised Penal Code, as amended and
Presidential Decree No. 532;

(8) Qualified theft under Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended;

(9) Swindling under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended;

(10) Smuggling under Republic Act Nos. 455 and 1937;

(11) Violations under Republic Act No. 8792, otherwise known as the Electronic
Commerce Act of 2000;

(12) Hijacking and other violations under Republic Act No. 6235; destructive arson
and murder, as defined under the Revised Penal Code, as amended, including those
perpetrated by terrorists against non-combatant persons and similar targets;

(13) Fraudulent practices and other violations under Republic Act No. 8799,
otherwise known as the Securities Regulation Code of 2000;

(14) Felonies or offenses of a similar nature that are punishable under the penal laws
of other countries.

The regional trial courts shall have jurisdiction to try all cases on money laundering. Those
committed by public officers and private persons who are in conspiracy with such public officers
shall be under the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.
Composition of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)
BSP Governor as chairman
Insurance Commission Commissioner as member
SEC Chairman as member
When AMLC finds there is probable cause to charge any person with money laundering, it files
a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice, which shall then
conduct a further investigation. These agencies then file the necessary case before the
Sandiganbayan or the Regional Trial Courts.
The bank secrecy laws, namely, Republic Act No. 1405, as amended and Republic Act No.
6426, as amended, subject to certain exceptions, expressly declare that deposits of whatever
nature, Philippine peso and foreign currency deposits, respectively, are confidential and
prohibit banks from disclosing any information related to the said deposits. As a consequence
of the enactment of the AMLA, the reporting of covered and suspicious transactions to the
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AMLC was expressly made an exception to bank secrecy laws. The AMLC must secure a
bank inquiry order from the court of appeals by filing an ex parte application. The AMLC may
inquire into or examine any particular deposit or investment with any banking institution or
non-bank financial institution upon order of any competent court in cases of violation of this Act
when it has been established that there is probable cause that the deposits or investments
involved are in any way related to a money laundering offense.
Prosecution of Money Laundering
Any person may be charged with and convicted of both the offense of money laundering
and the unlawful activity as herein defined.
Any proceeding relating to the unlawful activity shall be given precedence over the
prosecution of any offense or violation under this Act without prejudice to the freezing and
other remedies provided.
Functions of AMLC
to require and receive covered transaction reports from covered institutions;
to institute civil forfeiture proceedings and all other remedial proceedings through the Office
of the Solicitor General;
to initiate investigations of covered transactions, money laundering activities and other
violations of this Act;
to freeze any monetary instrument or property alleged to be proceeds of any unlawful
activity;
to implement such measures as may be necessary and justified under this Act to
counteract money laundering;
All records of all transactions of covered institutions shall be maintained and safely stored for
five (5) years from the dates of transactions. With respect to closed accounts, the records on
customer identification, account files and business correspondence, shall be preserved and
safely stored for at least five (5) years from the dates when they were closed.
Covered institutions shall report to the AMLC all covered transactions within five (5) working
days from occurrence thereof, unless the Supervising Authority concerned prescribes a longer
period not exceeding ten (10) working days.
When reporting covered transactions to the AMLC, covered institutions and their officers,
employees, representatives, agents, advisors, consultants or associates are prohibited from
communicating, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any means, to any person, entity, the
media, the fact that a covered transaction report was made, the contents thereof, or any other
information in relation thereto. Neither may such reporting be published or aired in any manner
or form by the mass media, electronic mail, or other similar devices. In case of violation thereof,
the concerned officer, employee, representative, agent, advisor, consultant or associate of the
covered institution, or media shall be held criminally liable.
Upon determination that probable cause exists that any deposit or similar account is in any way
related to an unlawful activity, the AMLC may issue a freeze order, which shall be effective
immediately, on the account for a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days. Notice to the
depositor that his account has been frozen shall be issued simultaneously with the issuance of
the freeze order. The depositor shall have seventy-two (72) hours upon receipt of the notice to
explain why the freeze order should be lifted. The AMLC has seventy-two (72) hours to dispose
of the depositors explanation. If it fails to act within seventy-two (72) hours from receipt of the
depositors explanation, the freeze order shall automatically be dissolved. The fifteen (15)-day
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freeze order of the AMLC may be extended upon order of the court, provided that the fifteen
(15)-day period shall be tolled pending the courts decision to extend the period.
These covered institutions include:

Banks and all other entities supervised and regulated by the BSP
Insurance companies, pre-need companies, and all other institutions supervised or
regulated by the IC
Securities dealers and other entities supervised or regulated by the SEC

Covered transaction' is a transaction in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument involving

a total amount in excess of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) within one (1) banking
day.
Suspicious transaction' are transactions with covered institutions, regardless of the amounts
involved, where any of the following circumstances exist:

"1. there is no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification;

"2. the client is not properly identified;

"3. the amount involved is not commensurate with the business or financial capacity of the client;

"4. taking into account all known circumstances, it may be perceived that the clients transaction is
structured in order to avoid being the subject of reporting requirements under the Act;

"5. any circumstance relating to the transaction which is observed to deviate from the profile of the
client and/or the clients past transactions with the covered institution;

"6. the transaction is in any way related to an unlawful activity or offense under this Act that is about
to be, is being or has been committed; or

"7. any transaction that is similar or analogous to any of the foregoing.