Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), “transaction” refers to any act establishing any right or obligation or giving rise to any contractual or legal relationship between the parties thereto. It also includes any movement of funds by any means with a covered institution.
The law says:
Covered Transaction refers to:
- A transaction in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument exceeding Five Hundred Thousand pesos (PHP500,000.00).
- A transaction with or involving jewelry dealers, dealers in precious metals and dealers in precious stones in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument exceeding One Million pesos (Php1,000,000.00).
- A casino cash transaction exceeding Five Million Pesos (PHP5,000,000.00) or its equivalent in other currency.
Covered Transaction is a transaction in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount in excess of five hundred thousand pesos (PHP500,000.00) within one (1) banking day. Covered Transactions Report (CTR) are reports on a covered transaction as filed by a covered person as discussed in a previous article.
Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Investigator is one of the Powers and Functions of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). As a Financial Investigator, the AMLC shall investigate, among other things, suspicious transactions and covered transactions deemed suspicious after investigation by the AMLC. Suspicious Transaction refers to a transaction, regardless of amount, where any of the suspicious circumstances, as herein defined, is determined, based on suspicion or, if available, reasonable grounds, to be existing.
The law says:
Suspicious Transaction is a transaction, regardless of amount, where any of the following circumstance exists:
- there is no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification;
- the client is not properly identified;
- the amount involved is not commensurate with the business or financial capacity of the client;
- taking into account all known circumstances, it may be perceived that the client’s transaction is structured in order to avoid being the subject of reporting requirements under the act;
- any circumstance relating to the transaction which is observed to deviate from the profile of the client and/or the client’s past transactions with the covered institution;
- the transaction is in any way related to an unlawful activity or any money laundering activity or offense under the AMLA, as amended, is being or has been committed;
- any transaction that is similar, analogous or identical to any of the foregoing.
Covered institutions shall report to the AMLC all covered transactions and suspicious transactions within five working days from occurrence thereof, unless the supervising authority concerned prescribes a longer period not exceeding ten working days. Should a transaction be determined to be both a covered and a suspicious transaction, the covered institution shall report the same as a suspicious transaction.
As for the confidentiality, when reporting covered transactions or suspicious transactions to the AMLC, covered institutions and their officers and employees, 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 or suspicious 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, and employee, of the covered institution, or media shall be held criminally liable.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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