In The Know: The Anti-Money Laundering Council

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is a financial intelligence body tasked with investigating and causing the prosecution of money laundering offenses.

Petitions filed by the AMLC in the Court of Appeals have resulted in the freezing of bank accounts related to several high-profile cases.

One example is the appellate court decision in June 2011 approving a 20-day freeze order on assets in banks and in other establishments used by Ampatuan clan members accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

The order came after a lifestyle check by the AMLC showed that the Ampatuans had engaged in transactions worth more than P1 billion from 2000 to 2009 which can be considered illegitimate because they were covered by spurious documents.

Republic Act No. 9160 as amended by RA 9194, also known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, established the AMLC.

The AMLC is composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor as chairman with the insurance commissioner and the Securities and Exchange Commission chair as members.

Assisting the AMLC is a secretariat composed of an executive director and four units—the Compliance and Investigation Group, Legal Evaluation Group, Information Management and Analysis Group, and the Administrative and Financial Services Division. Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives, AMLC website