BOC lists own efforts against money laundering, currency smuggling

2,000 percent hike in NAIA currency seizure alone

On Mar 1, 2025

Customs Officers at the Port of NAIA, Terminal 1, count the foreign currencies they seized from a Filipino passenger bound for Hongkong who failed to declare them as mandated by law, February 21, 2025 (photo credit: BOC-PIAD).

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) under Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, shared its elation with other government agencies on the Philippines’ removal from the ‘Grey List’ of the Paris-based, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that marked a major achievement in the country’s effort to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

“In coordination with key agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Philippine Coast Guard, Office of Transportation Security, Department of Justice and the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the BOC further strengthened its cross-border measures against bulk cash smuggling by fully integrating Customs clearance into the eTravel system, deploying cash-sniffing dogs, expanding capacity-building programs, and upgrading baggage scanning technologies,” said Comm. Rubio in a statement.

“These measures resulted in a 455-fold increase in currency declarations and a rise in currency seizures, reaching 194 in 2024 alone, overshadowing the total number of seizures in the last 10 years combined, he added.

The customs chief averred their effort is in compliance with Executive Order No. 33 s. 2023, issued by President Marcos Jr., as regards to the cross-border enforcement of the laws against money laundering and terrorism financing.

Last February 21, the FATF, a non-government organization that claims to be the “global watchdog” that monitors flow of illegal money announced it is removing the Philippines from its ‘Grey List’ (see also Pinoy Exposé, February 23, 2025).

Being placed in the list translates to stringent monitoring by the FATF of a country’s financial transactions.

The FATF decided to place the Philippines in its Grey List in June 2021, during the height of online gaming operations (POGO) in the country. All POGO operations, however, were ordered shut down by President Marcos by the end of 2024.

The Philippines’ removal from the FATF Grey List shows that the government is committed to ensuring financial integrity and global security, Rubio added.

More currency seizures at NAIA

At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (BOC-NAIA), district collector Atty. Yasmin Mapa informed Rubio that another batch of undeclared foreign currencies was intercepted at Terminal 1 last February 21, coinciding with the day the Philippines passed the FATF scrutiny.

Mapa said the seized currency consisted of 3,950,000 Japanese Yen (JPY), 20,000 Euro (EUR), and 8,500 Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD). She said the currencies were found at the hand-carried baggage of a departing Filipino bound for Hongkong.

“A physical examination of the luggage revealed bundles of foreign currencies concealed inside which the passenger failed to declare,” Mapa said. The passenger’s identity was withheld.

“This apprehension further proves the crucial role of the Bureau of Customs in the recent exit of the Philippines in the FATF’s Grey List by continuously demonstrating the cross border declaration and security measures in place to prevent cash smuggling, contributing to the protection of the nation’s economic interest,” Rubio said in a separate statement.

In 2024, BOC-NAIA made 158 interceptions of undeclared or falsely declared currencies, an increase of almost a 2,000 percent from 2023, Mapa added further.

In the first two months of this year, Mapa said the Port of NAIA alone recorded 28 apprehensions involving foreign currencies in various denominations.