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THE
government fears its reinstatement into the now empty
roster of countries previously lumped as noncompliant
with the terms of the Paris-based Financial Action Task
Force’s (FATF) global antimoney-laundering drive.
The
reinstatement loomed following a Supreme Court ruling
sustaining a decision saying the law does not allow
courts to issue ex parte inquiry orders into bank
accounts without prior notice or hearing of the parties
involved.
The
Antimoney Laundering Council (AMLC), headed by Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr.,
would not comment on the matter, but banking sources
claimed the recent Supreme Court ruling will impact
adversely on the country’s international credit stature.
“Definitely, the Supreme Court ruling has serious
economic repercussions because of the strong probability
that the FATF will deem us noncompliant with its revised
40 and nine special recommendations,” the sources said,
just before the nation went on an extended Lenten
holiday.
This
pertains to specific measures compliant countries like
the Philippines must adhere to on sustained basis or
risk losing its present status.
Subjecting overseas Filipino remittances to strict
documentation or a credit downgrade from the
international ratings bodies as Standard & Poor’s or
Moody’s Investor Service were among the feared
consequences. Beyond saying the list of noncompliant
jurisdictions is now empty, none of the AMLC officials
offered comments.
“Empty
except for
Nigeria,
which is now subject to FATF monitoring,” the sources
said.
If it
lands anew on the negative list of countries without
effective combat tools against money laundering and
financial terrorism, the Philippines will have the
distinction of being the first Asian country ever
reinstated by the FATF, according to the sources.
The
World Bank’s Asia-Pacific Group on Antimoney Laundering
was also set to review the country’s continued adherence
to international standards in October this year, after
which the FATF itself would conduct its own evaluation,
according to banking sources.
Manila
was initially removed in 2005 from the list of
noncompliant jurisdictions, gaining full accreditation
the year after. |
