Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10365)
Republic Act No. 10365 aims to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering Law by amending Republic Act No. 9160 to broaden coverage, enhance procedures, and impose stricter penalties against money laundering activities in the Philippines.
Covered persons include banks, non-banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, foreign exchange dealers, pawnshops, remittance companies, insurance companies, securities dealers, brokers, investment houses, jewelry dealers in precious metals or stones with transactions over 1 million pesos, company service providers, and persons providing certain financial management or business entity operations, excluding independent lawyers and accountants under specific conditions.
Unlawful activities include kidnapping for ransom, drug offenses, graft and corruption, plunder, robbery, extortion, illegal gambling, piracy, qualified theft, swindling, smuggling, electronic commerce violations, terrorism acts, bribery, forgery, trafficking in persons, environmental law violations, intellectual property violations, and other felonies punishable under penal laws or similar laws of other countries.
Money laundering is committed when a person, knowing that any monetary instrument or property is related to the proceeds of unlawful activity, transacts, converts, conceals, attempts, aids, or facilitates such money or property, including failure of covered persons to report suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
The AMLC is composed of the BSP Governor, Insurance Commissioner and SEC Chairman. It acts unanimously to perform duties such as investigating suspicious transactions, applying for freezing orders on monetary instruments or properties, requiring reports on real estate transactions over 500,000 pesos, and imposing penalties related to money laundering.
Covered persons must report all covered and suspicious transactions to the AMLC within five working days (which may be extended up to fifteen working days) from occurrence. Lawyers and accountants acting as independent legal professionals are exempted if information is protected by professional secrecy.
Covered persons, their officers and employees, and the media are prohibited from disclosing the fact that a suspicious transaction has been reported or details thereof, to avoid compromising investigations. Violations of this prohibition may lead to criminal liability.
Upon AMLC's verified ex parte petition showing probable cause, the Court of Appeals may issue a freeze order on monetary instruments or property related to unlawful activity. The freeze lasts for up to six months, must be acted on within 24 hours, and a person affected may file a motion to lift the order. No temporary restraining order or injunction can be issued against the freeze order, except by the Supreme Court.
Penalties include imprisonment from 7 to 14 years and fines ranging from three million pesos to twice the value of the property for principal offenses. Accessory offenses such as aiding may result in imprisonment from 4 to 7 years and fines from 1.5 to 3 million pesos. Covered persons who knowingly participate face imprisonment from 4 to 7 years and fines up to 200% of the laundered value.
The AMLC can impose sanctions including monetary penalties up to 500,000 pesos per violation, warnings, or reprimand after due notice and hearing. These sanctions are without prejudice to criminal charges against responsible persons.
No. The law exempts lawyers and accountants acting as independent legal professionals from reporting covered and suspicious transactions if the information is obtained in circumstances where disclosure would compromise client confidentiality or legal professional privilege, provided they are authorized to practice in the Philippines.
Yes. The law prohibits discrimination based solely on customer types such as politically-exposed persons or attributes like religion, race, or ethnic origin in denying access to services. Persons or entities responsible for such discriminatory acts are subject to sanctions by their respective regulators.
The Separability Clause states that if any provision is declared unconstitutional, the validity and effectivity of the other provisions remain unaffected.
Precious metals include gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, and their alloys and related plating chemicals. Precious stones include diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, opals, amethysts, beryls, topazes, and garnets used in jewelry making.
Prosecution for money laundering may proceed independently of the prosecution of the underlying unlawful activity, and a person may be charged and convicted for both offenses separately.