The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based dirty money watchdog, decided on June 25, 2021, to include the Philippines on it’s “gray list” again. After failing to properly “address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing,” the Philippines will now be monitored by the FATF and must report three times a year on countermeasures, for instance against environmental crime and corruption.
“Being added to the FATF’s gray list means higher interest rates and processing fees, as well as more layers of scrutiny from financial institutions.” Within defined deadlines the government and law enforcement agencies must implement steps, for example towards the transparency of beneficial ownership and an increase of investigations and prosecutions. The Philippines has been under monitoring already between 2000 and 2005, and 2012 and 2013.