EXPLAINER: What are the functions of the Anti-Money Laundering Council?
The Anti-Money Laundering Council disclosed that bank accounts linked to Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, had been flagged for billions of pesos worth of transactions over nearly two decades.
During a hearing of the House of Representatives on the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura confirmed that banks have submitted covered and suspicious transaction reports involving the couple.
Around 313 covered transactions and 17 suspicious transactions were identified in Duterte’s accounts, while 317 covered transactions and 16 suspicious transactions were recorded in those of her husband. These spanned 2006 to 2025 and had a total value of P6.77 billion.
The disclosure has prompted renewed public interest in how the AMLC operates—particularly its role in monitoring financial transactions and flagging potential irregularities. Read on to know more about its functions:
What is the AMLC?
The AMLC is the Philippines’ financial intelligence unit, created under Republic Act 10167 or the "Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001." The council is composed of the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as chairman, and the commissioner of the Insurance Commission and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission as members.
It's tasked with safeguarding the country’s financial system against becoming a money laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activity.
Among its most important functions is requiring or receiving covered or suspicious transaction reports from covered institutions such as banks, insurance companies, and the like.
What it can and can't freeze
Covered transactions are those that exceed P500,000 and are made in a single banking day. As required by law, banks report these to the AMLC to prevent potential illegal activity.
On the other hand, suspicious transactions are those that raise red flags regardless of the amount involved. These include circumstances wherein there is no clear legal or economic purpose for the transaction, where the client is not properly identified, or where the amount involved is inconsistent with the client’s known financial capacity or business activity.
Transactions may also be flagged if they appear structured to avoid reporting thresholds, deviate from a client’s usual financial behavior, or show indicators that they may be linked to unlawful activity or other similar suspicious patterns.
Should the council find transactions that appear irregular, they will analyze and investigate these reports to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering or other unlawful activity.
If warranted, the AMLC has the authority to file a freeze order petition before the Court of Appeals against the account. The order will be effective immediately and will last for a period of 20 days unless extended by the court.
The depositor will be notified that their account has been frozen at the same time that the freeze order is implemented, and they can subsequently file a motion to lift the freeze order.
However, the power to freeze is not without limitations. Under the law, any freeze or asset preservation order is restricted only to the portion of funds that the court determines may be linked to unlawful activity.
Penalties for money laundering
Should a person be found guilty of transacting or attempting to transact any monetary instrument unlawfully, they will be penalized with imprisonment for seven to 14 years and a fine of not less than P3 million but not more than twice the value of the monetary instrument.
If the person knowingly helps, facilitates, or participates in money laundering, the penalty is four to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of not less than P1.5 million but not more than P3 million.
Those who failed to disclose and file with the AMLC any questionable transaction as required by law will also be punished, with imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than four years, or a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P500,000, or both, depending on the discretion of the court.
