December 6, 2012 12:36pm

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/285266/news/nation/house-oks-bill-strengthening-law-vs-money-laundering

The House of Representatives has approved a priority bill of the Aquino administration seeking to give more teeth to the country’s existing law against money laundering.

Voting 144-7 with one abstention, the lower chamber passed on third and final reading on Wednesday night House Bill 6565, which amends certain provisions of Republic Act 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

In a statement, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., one of the bill’s authors, said the measure was approved to honor the country’s commitments to international treaties, particularly the Vienna Convention of 1988 and the Palermo Convention of 2001.

“The measure seeks to strengthen further the anti-money laundering law by making it compliant with updated and revised international anti-money laundering or counter-terrorist financing standards,” Belmonte said.

Under the proposed legislation, money laundering is defined as “a crime where the proceeds of an unlawful activity are transacted, converted, transferred, disposed of, moved, acquired, possessed, used, concealed or disguised.”

The approved measure expands the coverage of the anti-money laundering law to include money changers, pre-need companies, casinos, real estate agents, dealers of precious metals and stones, and trust company service providers.

The bill also provides for additional unlawful activities to money laundering, including terrorism and terrorist financing, human trafficking, bribery, forgery, malversation of public funds and environmental crimes.

The proposed amendatory statutes also gives the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) the authority to file a civil forfeiture case upon determination that a probable cause exists to believe that money is related to an illegal activity.

The Senate version of this measure, Senate Bill 3123, is still pending before third reading. It has to be approved by the Senate before a bicameral conference committee can be convened to settle conflicting provisions of the two versions of the bill.

The report of the bicameral conference committee will then be sent to both the House and the Senate for ratification. Once ratified by both chambers, the proposed legislation will be sent to the President for approval.