The Philippine government has assessed money laundering from environmental crimes as a high risk due to the number of environmental cases, the amount of criminal proceeds, and the lack of financial investigations.
Over the years, numerous environmental cases have been filed in Philippine courts, including those involving illegal mining, fishing, wildlife trade and violations of forestry laws, but there is no data to suggest that any investigations have been carried out into money laundering linked to these environmental crimes.
The skills acquired during the recent financial investigation training in Quezon City are therefore vital to the country’s efforts to increase interest, willingness and capacity to investigate the nexus of financial and environmental crimes and prosecute those involved.
The training was jointly organized by the Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines (AMLC), the country’s financial intelligence agency, and the AML Research Center Asia Pacific (ARCAP), Inc.
The training focused on providing practical skills and knowledge to government officials, including law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, legal officers and representatives of the financial sector, based on a “follow the money” approach.
Participants discussed financial investigation techniques, discussing asset recovery, seizure and confiscation, and presenting reports of suspicious transactions.
In response to calls for increased interest, motivation and capacity to investigate, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, guidelines for the implementation of anti-money laundering regulations and “follow the money” principles to combat wildlife trafficking will be developed.
“By investigating wildlife crimes from a financial investigative perspective, we are able to build stronger cases against traffickers. We are able to follow the money trail, identify key players, uncover money laundering schemes and gather better evidence,” said Jewel Paduron of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office.
With 61% of participants having never received training in financial investigative practices, this provided an opportunity for closer collaboration and cooperation between the AMLC, key Philippine government agencies, and the private sector to improve the investigation and prosecution of wildlife criminals using financial investigative techniques.
“We welcome more such training opportunities to help the private sector adapt to regulations on financial investigations. It gives us an opportunity to discuss new technologies and methods used by criminals, and puts us at the forefront in collaborating with the government in its efforts to ensure convictions for wildlife crimes,” said Attorney Ronald Pasamba, general counsel at GCash, one of the Philippines’ leading financial technology companies.
The event brought together a total of 47 government officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Biodiversity Management Bureau, DENR Environmental Law Enforcement and Protection Service, DENR Regional Offices, Bureau of Customs, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Palawan Sustainable Development Council Services, Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat, and Department of Justice National Prosecutor’s Office.
The eight private sector representatives in attendance were from financial services companies such as the Philippine Association of Foreign Exchange Dealers, Money Exchangers and Remittance Agents (PAFERA), PJ Lhuillier Inc., BEACON, EEC International Phil Corp., LBC Express and GCash.
