Philippines Stays on Gray List Over Casino Junket Money Laundering

March 9, 2022 Philippines Crime & Legal

The Philippines will remain on a global money-laundering “gray list” until it can mitigate risks associated with casino junkets, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has said.

Paris-based FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded by the G7 to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. A FATF gray-listing exerts pressure on a nation’s economy by stymying its banking sector, making it less agile and more expensive to engage with.

FATF acknowledged Friday that the Philippines had made progress in improving its anti-money-laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regime. But it identified several areas where such scrutiny could be improved.

As well as tightening controls on the junket sector, these include better supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions, such as jewelry dealers, real estate brokers and developers, and service providers for financial businesses.