Foreign money has been entering PH as early as March 2019, AMLC says

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign money amounting to $900,000 has been brought into the country since March last year, the Anti-Money Laundering Council disclosed Thursday.

During the Senate blue ribbon committee’s hearing on the alleged money laundering, crimes, and other nefarious activities associated with Pogos, AMLC Secretariat executive director Mel Georgie Racela said the amount brought into the country ranged from $200,000 to $900,000.

“Just like any other intelligence information which we started on March 20 of 2019, there were several foreign currencies that were brought in as early as March 2019,” Racela said.

For 2019, Racela said among the top currencies that entered the country include US dollars (US$336 million), Japanese yen (2 billion, 749 million yen); and Hong Kong dollars (HK$ 215 million).

These amounts cover both declared and undeclared cash, Racela said.

Senator Richard Gordon earlier said that the amount of money that was suspiciously brought into the country has reached $633 million or over P32 billion from September 2019 to March 2020.

In a privilege speech on Tuesday, Gordon claimed that Chinese and Filipino couriers were able to hand-carry more than $447 million into the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from September 2019 to February this year.

Gordon speculated that much of the dollars that were questionably brought to the country could be being used for POGO.