It is unlikely the Philippines will be able to exit by October the so-called ‘grey list’ of the Paris-based watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), but the country might be able to achieve such a move by January next year.

That is according to Monday comments by Eli Remolona, chairman of the Central Bank of the Philippines, who also heads the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

The FATF added the Philippines to its grey list in June 2021, after the identification of 18 shortcomings in the country’s work on anti-money laundering (AML), combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT), and against proliferation financing (PF) in relation to chemical, nuclear and biological weapons.

Matters to be addressed by the Philippines included “demonstrating that supervisors are using AML/CFT controls to mitigate risks associated with casino junkets”.

Mr Remolona said the government was tightening its monitoring of casino junkets, and that the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, was working on the matter.

“We’ve made very big progress… We’ve officially fulfilled 15 of the 18 [items of concern],” stated Mr Remolona in his Monday remarks, as cited by BusinessWorld Online.

“In October they [FATF] will decide whether we have fulfilled the 18 action plans. And then between October and January, they check. January is the exit date,” he added, as quoted by the Philippine Star.

A February update from the Anti-Money Laundering Council had noted that the country’s leader, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. had directed all concerned government agencies to complete within this year “all their respective deliverables for the country’s exit from the grey list”.

Those items had been reflected in the government’s National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Counter-Proliferation Financing Strategy 2023-2027, stated the Council.

Jurisdictions on the FATF grey list are subject to increased monitoring by the FATF. According to a research paper by the International Monetary Fund, places under such a measure can “experience a disruption in capital flows”.

In a June 28 update following a plenary meeting, the FATF said it was keeping the Philippines on its watch list for now.

The FATF called on the nation – a major regional jurisdiction for land-based and online gaming – to address outstanding issues “as soon as possible as all deadlines expired in January 2023”.

In May, BusinessWorld online cited data from Moody’s Analytics Inc, indicating that from 2018 to 2023, the Philippines was among the top five countries in Southeast Asia with money laundering activity.