AUDIT TO DETECT FRAUD AND CORRUPTION: EVALUATION OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION AND MONEY LAUNDERING The 10th ASOSAI Research Project Atty. ALEXANDER B. JULIANO Director – Fraud Audit Office Commission on Audit - Philippines
Assessment of Current Situation of Anti-Corruption in the Philippines
The Philippines Anti-corruption Strategy Stand-alone anti-corruption program or anti-corruption strategy
The Philippines Anti-corruption Strategy Umbrella document with separate programs for sectors or ministries Inter-agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council
The Philippines Anti-corruption Strategy Section in another policy document, e.g. national development or investment program Strategies are embodied in Anti-corruption Laws Specific laws, courts, and prosecutors dedicated to government anti-corruption
CHAPTERS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION DOCUMENT Background chapters Level of implementation of previous strategy Objectives and priority areas Chapters on prevention and criminalisation / law-enforcement measures Public participation/education Monitoring and assessment mechanism and criteria
ACTION PLAN The anti-corruption strategy has an action plan embodied in the Anti-Corruption Laws
ELEMENTS OF THE ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTION PLAN General objectives Specific measures Specific institutions Time-frame Criteria for assessing implementation Budget specially allocated Institution responsible
The anti-corruption documents and action plans are published PUBLICATION The anti-corruption documents and action plans are published
MEASURES EMPLOYED IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION Open and transparency in the operation of agencies Development and implementation of entitlements, norms and standards Administrative reform Development and enforcement of the code of conduct and the code of professional ethics Penalty forms to heads of the agencies in case of occurrence of corruption Salary payment via bank account Declaration of assets and income Regulation of returning gift by the public officials Whistle blowing and prohibition of acceptance of gift/donation
ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES The Office of the Ombudsman Department of Justice The National Bureau of Investigation The Commission on Audit
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES/FUNCTIONS OF THE ACA Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy Collect, centralize and exploit the denunciations Conduct investigations Disseminate knowledge on anti-corruption activities Raise public awareness about the fight against corruption Identify the causes of corruption and to propose to the competent authorities of measures to help eliminate it Draw a risk map of corruption in the country Anti-corruption screening of legal acts Research and analysis on corruption Keep a database on the statistics regarding cases of corruption year by years Research and analysis on conflict of interest in the public management
RE-EVALUATION OF BODIES/ AREAS/ ACTIVITIES HAVING HIGH RISK OF CORRUPTION The ACAs regularly re-evaluate the bodies, areas and activities with high risk of corruption in order to employ appropriate measures to mitigate corruption
The ACAs have a hotline and website in order to facilitate citizens’ complaint on corruption.
CRIMINALIZATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CORRUPTION Special Law Criminal Law
NEED TO ENACT NEW LEGISLATION Abuse of position/power Influence peddling Kickback Nepotism Political dynasty
RANKING OF CORRUPTION MEASURES 1 Preventive policies and measure 2 Detective actions 3 Punitive measure
LAWS AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE FINANCING OF POLITICAL PARTIES The Omnibus Election Code
The Philippines have laws and regulations governing code of ethics of and declaration of assets by public officials
The Philippines has “accounting and auditing standards” for both public and private sectors
Our public officials have legal obligation to report corruption-related offence
IMPLEMENTATION RATE OF THE RULES/REGULATION IN COMBATING CORRUPTIONS Very poor Poor Fair 1 2
Memorandum of Implementation signed on June 14, 2013 THE PHILIPPINES HAS RATIFIED UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION (UNCAC) Memorandum of Implementation signed on June 14, 2013
The Philippines has begun the UNCAC peer review process
The Philippines is a member of anti-corruption conventions, initiatives or international project (OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; GRECO etc.) Yes 3
SUCCESS LEVEL OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Extradition Mutual legal assistance Asset recovery Cooperation with law enforcement authorities Cooperation between national authorities Moderate Low High
EFFECT OF MEDIA IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION To some extent, media have helped public to recognize the real situation of corruption, however the provided information are sometimes inaccurate and subjective
SOCIETY’S PARTICIPATION IN TACKLING CORRUPTION Actively but not effectively
About the same as past years PRESENT LEVEL OF ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS COMPARED TO PAST YEARS EXPERIENCE About the same as past years
PARTICIPANTS TO ANTI-CORRUPTION EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING PROGRAMS Public officials Non-governmental organizations Businessmen Media
FACTORS THAT INHIBIT THE RESULT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION Corrupt people are not severely punished The collusion between law enforcers and corrupt people Authorized officials lack commitment Some superiors cover up for their subordinates Afraid of retaliation and victimization Have not mobilized well people’s and media’s participation Lack of competent and experienced staff Lack of capacity and financial resources Insufficient pay and benefits to government employees Public officials lack political will Corruption too ingrained in government institution
THE RESULT OF THE CURRENT FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION Have had positive impact
ROLE OF CITIZENS IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION The citizens help to promote public sector transparency and accountability Complaint system/ Whistle Blower, and Denunciation
Assessment of Current Situation of Anti- Money Laundering in the Philippines
Money laundering is a criminal offence in the Philippines
LAW GOVERNING ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING Republic Act 9160 - Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001
R.A. 9160 could not cover all money laundering aspects to deal with this phenomenon
RATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAW Fair Good 2
The Philippines has a national Financial Intelligent Unit (FIU) functioning as national center for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding potential money laundering offences
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is the official authority in-charge of anti-money laundering
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES WHICH HAVE BEEN APPLIED EFFECTIVELY Identify customer and update customer information Report, provide and save information Gather, treat and transform information Apply temporary measures to adjudge violations Investigation of predicate crimes to money laundering Institute civil forfeiture proceedings against proceeds of crime Cause the filing of complaints for the prosecution of money laundering offenses
OUR AMLC ENJOYS INDEPENDENCE Legal Functional Financial Recruitment of employees
THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS OUR AMLC PERFORMS THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS Developing policies and improving legislation Data collection, analysis and evaluation Supervision and coordination Investigation of the cases Raising awareness in the public Carry out researches Carrying out examination of the cases Requesting any kind of information Prosecution of money laundering and related cases
RANK OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES 1 Preventive policies and measures 2 Detective actions 3 Punitive measure
The citizens may inform (denounce) the country’s AML Board about a suspected case of money laundering via website of the AML Board or via letter
UPDATED RULES AND INFORMATION ABOUT ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING Recent amendment to RA 9160
The AMLC requires all financial institutions to have anti-money laundering (AML) & Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO COMPLY WITH LEGAL OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAW Internal controls record-keeping requirements Thorough client identification Creating and updating list of red flags Prohibition of anonymous account Employee training programs Independent audit/ compliance function Monitoring program Policies covering relationship with politically exposed persons Policy protecting accounts / relations with shell banks Policy of protecting employees
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ARE OBLIGED TO COMPLY WITH LEGAL OBLIGATIONS OR ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES IN TERMS OF CLIENT DUE DILIGENCE PROCEDURES Implementation systems for the identification of its customer Collecting information and assessing its customer’s AML policies and practices Screening its customer’s information against sanction list Regular updating and verification / validation of customer’s information
MOST COMMON TYPES OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION REPORTS (STR) FROM FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Inconsistencies with the financial profile Financial transactions involving the person(s) considered in the “high risk” category Unusually large cash transactions Suspicious behaviours Unusual use / exchange of cash Refusals to show identification Avoiding reporting obligations Unusual account activities Cutting large amount of transaction into pieces Clear evidence of illegal activities linked with a transfer
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ARE OBLIGED TO COMPLY WITH FATF RECOMMENDATIONS Yes Although not a FATF Member, Philippine Laws are substantially compliant with FATF recommendations
Rate of AMLC’s ability to cooperate and exchange financial information at international level Good Very Good 2
There are cooperation agreements or protocols among the local institutions in our country to share financial information and financial transfers and if it’s involved with money laundering
ROLE OF CITIZENS IN FIGHTING MONEY LAUNDERING The citizens help to promote public sector transparency and accountability Civil society is also engaged in anti-money laundering efforts Complaint system/ Whistle Blower, and Denunciation
The penalties for money laundering incidents are appropriate
FACTORS THAT INHIBIT THE FIGHT AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING Money laundering criminals are not severely punished Limited capacity of staff and resources to handle said cases The collusion between enforcement officers and money laundering criminals Limitation of citizen’s knowledge about money laundering criminal Lack of competent and experienced staff to handle money laundering cases Inherent difficulty in detecting and investigating money laundering cases Laws protecting the depositors and other privacy issues
PARTICIPANTS TO ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING PROGRAMS Public officials but only few /selected public officials have been provided with training schools General Public NGOs Financial Institutions (bank etc.) Business associations and private companies
Controlling systems are the keystone and deterrent for fighting against money laundering Yes 4
There are high institutions providing training workshops for the employees of controlling agencies about methods to detect money laundering Yes 4
RESULT OF THE CURRENT FIGHT AGAINST-MONEY LAUNDERING Have had positive impact