AML law changes to include casinos

The Philippine government could tighten its money laundering law this year to cover casinos, its top lawmaker said yesterday, in a move aimed at plugging loopholes that allowed $81 million stolen from Bangladesh to pass through Manila gaming venues. The Senate aims to approve its version of the bill in May and it is likely the lower house of Congress would hold separate discussions on its version around the same time, said Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III. Apart from strict enforcement of a "know-yourcustomer rule," casinos would, under the proposed amendment, be required to report to the country's anti-money laundering body accumulated bets within a 24-hour period totalling 13 million ($60,000), he said. The review of the existing law comes after a breach last year of Bangladesh Bank's systems and use of SWIFT messaging network to request nearly $1 billion from its account at the New York Federal Reserve in early February. (Reuters)