The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Friday its strict border control measures against illicit cash smuggling have played a crucial role in the Philippines’ removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List.
According to the BOC, its intensified crackdown against smuggling, deployment of cash-sniffing dogs, upgraded baggage scanning systems and expanded capacity-building for customs personnel led to a 455-fold increase in currency declarations as well as in 194 cash seizures in 2024 alone.
To recall, the Philippines is no longer among the countries under the watch of an international body for money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
In a statement…