Phl eyes exiting from FATF 'grey list' by January 2025

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona said on Monday that the Philippines is on track to meet the necessary requirements to exit the money laundering ‘grey list’ of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force by January 2025.

Remolona, who also serves as the chair of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, made the announcement during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-San Miguel Corp. (EJAP-SMC) Economic Forum.

The FATF, an international body that sets standards for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures, placed the Philippines on its grey list in February 2021. This status indicates that the country was deemed to have strategic deficiencies in its financial regulatory framework.

"We don’t get out of the grey list by October. Once we’re told we have largely addressed these three main items, there’s an exit process that ensues," Remolona said.

“In October they decide whether we have fulfilled the 18 [action items] and then between October and January they check. January is the exit date,” Remolona added.

In a 28 June announcement, the FATF said the Philippines remains on its grey list.

The Philippines was advised to implement effective controls for casino junkets, enhance cross-border detection measures at seaports and airports to identify false currency declarations, and boost efforts to prosecute terrorist financing.

In response, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) stated that the National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter-Proliferation Financing Coordinating Committee (NACC) and relevant agencies are making every effort to rectify these deficiencies.