BSP revokes licenses of three money changers over AML breaches
By Derco Rosal
Photo by Ali Vicoy I MB
Citing serious and persistent violations of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board (MB) has revoked the licenses of three money changer firms.
Based on the BSP’s statement released on Wednesday, July 16, the three firms are the Prince Rockwell Money Changer Corp., Kings Hopewell Group Corp., and World Reliance Trading Corp.
In separate resolutions (Nos. 22.A, 22.D, and 22.G), dated January of last year, the central bank approved the cancellation of the licenses of the said firms to operate as money changers, foreign exchange (forex) dealers, and remittance agents.
According to the BSP, the decision to cancel aligns with Section 901-N of the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (MORNBFI).
Breaches of Section 601-N of the MORNBFI in relation to Part 9 of the Q Regulations and Republic Act No. 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001, as amended, including non-compliance with their respective Deeds of Undertaking.
In particular, the basis of the revocation was the “serious and persistent violations” of AML rules, regulatory requirements under the MORNBFI, and the firms’ own deeds of undertaking.
The BSP also “denied with finality the request for reconsideration filed by the aforementioned entities regarding the cancellation of their BSP registrations.”
To recall, the European Commission had removed the Philippines from its list of high-risk jurisdictions following the country’s removal from the global money-laundering watchlist, also known as the grey list, in February.
The Philippines and other delisted jurisdictions are now excluded from the high-risk category due to weak measures against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT).