He advised the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and other law enforcement agencies to attack the financial infrastructure of drug trafficking syndicates to suppress their supply and distribution operations. “We are counting on the AMLC in particular to quickly spot and seize suspected drug money flowing through our banks, and to forcefully prosecute cases of money laundering by traffickers,” Zubiri said. “Regulators should disabuse the perception that they have been inadequate in thwarting the criminal use of banks by drug traffickers,” he added. “Our sense is, this is a glaring case of inadequate enforcement of controls by regulators begetting poor compliance by banks,” Zubiri said. Zubiri said Philippine banks should be doing what their counterparts in the United States have been doing for a long time to fight money laundering.

Source: Manila Times September 01, 2016 13:41 UTC