How is Money Laundering in the Philippines carried out?
The scheme is carried out in three stages mainly, every step of which is aimed at
disguising the illegal origin of the money that is transacted.
1. Placement In this stage, the money launderer places the proceeds from illegal
activity into financial institutions, like banks, through deposits, money orders, wire
transfers or other means. The money may be mixed with legitimate deposits, or large
amounts are broken up into smaller sums which are either deposited in various bank
accounts or used to buy monetary instruments. These are then collected and deposited to another location.
2. Layering. This stage involves further distancing the proceeds of criminal activity
from their origin through complex and multiple financial transactions. This may be done through the purchase and sale of investment securities, the wiring of funds through a number of accounts worldwide, or the disguised transfer of payments for
non-existent goods and services.
3. Integration. In this stage, the money launderer reenters the funds to legitimate
circulation by investing in, for example, real estate or other business ventures. The
money by then would appear to be entirely clean, hence, money laundering is consummated.
