AMLC okays registration and reporting guidelines

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it has approved the four-part and comprehensive online AMLC registration and reporting guidelines (ARRG) of all covered persons to “ensure proper and timely compliance with reporting procedures.”

The consolidated ARRG included all related AMLC resolutions since 2004. It does not however include the guidelines for casinos which AMLC said will have its own separate ARRG to be released later.

In a statement, AMLC executive director Mel Georgie B. Racela said the ARRG “is a significant step toward improving the quality and usefulness of information and reports submitted by covered persons.”

Racela said the ARGG includes sactions which “after observance of due process, will ensure a culture of compliance among them.”

Racela remarked that the AMLC had prepared the revamp of its system and rules on registration and reporting for some time, and they wanted it done to cope with the surge in the number of covered persons and their transactions.

Racela added: “The AMLC had also striven to find suitable ways to establish a central linkage among the supervising authorities that would facilitate our coordination. Finally, the adoption of the ARRG should strengthen the tools available to the AMLC in its fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.”

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended and the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules (RIRR) require covered persons such as banks, insurance companies, and securities dealers to submit suspicious transaction reports (STRs) within five days from the occurrence or the date of determination of the suspicious nature of the transaction, which should not exceed 10 calendar days.

The AMLC said in its statement that ARGG adopts a new 18-digit registration number that facilitates identification of the covered person, its type of business and industry, and geographic location or branch; and anticipates future demand for registration into the AMLC’s database and online system. “The ARRG also reiterates the requirement on covered persons to submit complete, accurate, and timely STRs, and imposes additional requirements in the manner of submission to the AMLC.” (LCC)