AMLC seizes P52 million in Maute loot

From GMA News (Apr 19): AMLC seizes P52 million in Maute loot

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has seized at least P52 million in hot money recovered by military forces from the ISIS-inspired Maute group during the siege of Marawi City.

In the executive summary of AMLC's 2017 audit, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the AMLC issued "a freeze order on all the bank accounts and other assets owned and controlled by the Maute Group including P52 million in funds recovered by Philippine troops from a Maute/Abu Sayyaf-controlled area."

COA said AMLC financial investigators also have an ongoing inquiry into bank accounts linked to the terror group.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said troops recovered the money from a house once held by the terrorists during their five-month long siege of the Lanao del Sur capital, but added that they may have hidden more funds elsewhere.

"P52 million lang nakuha sa isang house. We suspected the Maute looted many more but we could not find them," Lorenzana said in a text message.

He added that someone had claimed to be the owner of the money, but the Department of National Defense issued no certification upon the request of AMLC due to uncertainty about the individual's claim.

The money is currently in the custody of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas pending forfeiture proceedings, according to Lorenzana.

The Defense chief said he is unaware of the total worth in the Maute bank accounts frozen by the AMLC.

The same COA report said that the council also boasts P8.2 billion in criminal proceeds frozen and forfeited since 2001. The amount is P901 million higher than the P7.3 billion total reported in 2016.

Out of the total, the AMLC recorded a P34-million increase in forfeited funds from P877.9 million in 2016 to P911.9 million in 2017, P19 million of which awaits execution.

Those pending civil forfeiture and freeze orders reached P5 billion in 2017, up from P4.2 billion in the previous year.

Almost P99 million, meanwhile, was returned by AMLC to victims of fraud or investors whose accounts were frozen. This brings the total amount of returned funds to P1.7 billion.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act created the AMLC to serve as the country's financial intelligence unit meant to ensure that the Philippines and its banking system will not be used for money laundering operations.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/650620/amlc-seizes-p52-million-in-maute-loot/story/