The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) recognizes only two categories of reportable transactions – covered or suspicious – and does not define an “unusual” transaction, Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Wednesday.
Lacson made the clarification during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after former Land Bank of the Philippines branch manager Nenita Camposano described as “unusual” a P37.5-million cash withdrawal from the Department of Education’s (DepEd) account.
Camposano, the prosecution’s second witness for Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, had noted that not all “unusual” transactions are flagged as suspicious or reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“So wala hong (kakaiba). Suspicious lang, wala ang middle. It’s either you categorize it into covered or suspicious (So there’s no ‘unusual’ transaction. It’s either you categorize it into covered or suspicious transaction),” Lacson said.
In Filipino: Lacson: Walang ‘Unusual’ na Transaksyon sa Ilalim ng AMLA, Covered o Suspicious Lang
“Wala sa batas ang unusual. Either it’s suspicious or covered transaction (The law does not provide for an unusual transaction. A reportable transaction is either suspicious or covered),” he added.
Lacson said that under the AMLA, there is no such thing as an unusual transaction. It’s either covered or suspicious, with covered transactions based on threshold amounts. Even transactions that are not suspicious should be reported if they are above the threshold amount, which is P500,000, he said.
He pointed out that transactions involving “covered persons” like casinos and real estate developers and brokers are subject to AMLA’s reporting requirements.
Also, he said even an ordinary depositor’s cash deposit or withdrawal exceeding the P500,000 reporting threshold amount constitutes a covered transaction, regardless of whether it is considered suspicious.
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Lacson: Walang ‘Unusual’ na Transaksyon sa Ilalim ng AMLA, Covered o Suspicious Lang
Dalawa lamang ang kinikilalang uri ng reportable transactions sa ilalim ng Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) — covered at suspicious — at walang tinutukoy na “unusual” o kakaibang transaction ang batas, ayon kay Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Miyerkules.
Ginawa ni Lacson ang paglilinaw sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte matapos ilarawan ng dating branch manager ng Land Bank of the Philippines na si Nenita Camposano bilang “unusual” ang cash withdrawal na nagkakahalaga ng P37.5 milyon mula sa account ng Department of Education (DepEd).
Ani Camposano, ang ikalawang testigo ng prosekusyon para sa Article I ng Articles of Impeachment, hindi lahat na “unusual” o “kakaibang” transaksyon ang itinuring na suspicious o na-report sa Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“So wala hong (kakaiba). Suspicious lang, wala ang middle. It’s either you categorize it into covered or suspicious,” aniya.
“Wala sa batas ang unusual. Either it’s suspicious or covered transaction,” dagdag niya.
Diin ni Lacson, ang reportable transaksyon sa AMLA ay “either covered or suspicious.” Ang covered transaction ay may threshold, at maski hindi suspicious ang transaction, kailangan itong i-report kung above the threshold amount na P500,000, aniya.
Itinuro rin ni Lacson na ang mga transaksyong kinasasangkutan ng mga “covered persons,” gaya ng mga casino at mga real estate developer at broker, ay saklaw ng mga reporting requirement ng AMLA.
Dagdag pa niya, kahit ang karaniwang depositor na nagdedeposito o nagwi-withdraw ng halagang lampas sa P500,000 reporting threshold ay itinuturing na covered transaction, kahit hindi ito maituturing na suspicious.
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