Philippines widens freeze on bank accounts in graft clampdown
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The Philippines has long struggled with costly flood mitigation programmes, with losses from corruption potentially running into trillions of pesos.
PHOTO: AFP
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MANILA – The Philippines’ anti-money laundering watchdog said it has secured a new court order to freeze 592 more bank accounts allegedly linked to graft-ridden flood control projects.
“The sheer magnitude of assets involved reflects the alarming scope of corruption tied to these flood control projects,” Mr Matthew David, executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, said in a statement late on Sept 19.
The freeze order is a step towards filing civil and criminal cases against those suspected to have “laundered illicit proceeds”, he added.
The latest ruling follows an earlier order from the Court of Appeals on Sept 16 to freeze 135 bank accounts. The watchdog said it will continue working with other agencies to trace and seize additional assets.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration is pursuing individuals and companies tied to questionable projects meant to mitigate flooding in the typhoon-prone nation.
Mr Marcos in September created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to determine how much was stolen from government funds earmarked for flood projects, many of which were allegedly substandard or never built.
The country has long struggled with costly flood mitigation programmes, with losses from corruption potentially running into trillions of pesos, the public works secretary told a Senate hearing this week. BLOOMBERG
