PAGCOR WELCOMES COUNTRY’S EXIT FROM FATF GREY LIST

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today welcomed the country’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list and vowed to continuously strengthen regulations and strict monitoring of the local gaming industry.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the exit from the list is a very significant development that should help bring in more foreign investments to the country.

“We are honored to have played a crucial part in this development, and the public can rest assured that PAGCOR will continue to ensure that all our licensees are compliant with all anti-money laundering rules and regulations,” he said.

“We also commit to sustain the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in the entire Philippine gaming industry, including our online gaming operators, land-based casinos and junket operators,” the PAGCOR chief said.

Mr. Tengco said much of the state gaming firm’s AML efforts are handled by two key units: The PAGCOR Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Enforcement Department (PASED) and the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Department or ACD.

“Rest assured that your PASED and ACD teams will work even harder, together with other departments and our licensees, to ensure that we never go back to the grey list,” Mr. Tengco added.

The FATF is an international body tasked to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. It placed the Philippines in the grey list in 2021 due to lax implementation of anti-money laundering efforts.