SINGAPORE, 12 March 2025 – During the final plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris, France on 19-21 February 2025, the FATF Plenary announced the removal of the Philippines in the grey list and congratulated the Philippines for the positive progress in addressing the strategic anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) deficiencies previously identified during evaluations. The Philippines has completed its Action Plan to resolve the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and will no longer be subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process.
FATF grey list is composed of jurisdictions placed under increased monitoring while they address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money-laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
On 6 March, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the announcement and stated that this milestone achievement signals a safer and more steady investment climate, as instituted measures result in enhanced confidence in transacting with Philippine institutions, lower interest rates, and reduced possibility of de-risking. The DFA further said that the positive impact also extends to the whole Filipino diaspora, which includes OFWs and Filipino permanent and temporary migrants, as it opens up greater opportunities for the inflow of remittances and investments of our countrymen to the Philippines, increasing the participation of our Filipino communities around the world in nation-building, including supporting the Philippine economy’s important role in the successful reintegration of our nationals.
In a statement made by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. on 12 March, he remarked that the Philippines’ official exit from the FATF grey list marked the end of a prolonged struggle to improve compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
The Philippines was included on the FATF grey list in 2021, subjecting its financial institutions to increased monitoring and imposing higher compliance costs on banks dealing with foreign counterparts.
Among the key measures undertaken by the Philippines to exit the grey list included:
- strengthening supervision of designated non-financial businesses, such as lawyers, accountants, real-estate sector and company service providers, and casinos;
- reducing risks associated with casino junkets;
- cracking down on unregistered and illegal money transfer operators;
- improving access to accurate beneficial ownership information for law enforcement agencies;
- increasing investigations and prosecutions related to money laundering and terrorism financing;
- implementing appropriate measures for non-profit organizations to prevent misuse while allowing legitimate activities; and
- implementing stricter cross-border measures on all main sea/airports of the country.
