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THE Antimoney Laundering Council (AMLC) has recommended the
forfeiture of properties owned by suspected Pasig City shabu tiangge
operator Amin Imam Boratong amid the Department of Justice (DOJ)
pronouncement that evidence against the alleged dismantled drug
bazaar owner was weak.
At the weekly Philippine National
Police Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis (TSIP) forum, AMLC Executive
Director Vicente Aquino said the government has a strong case
against Boratong, contrary to the justice department’s claim,
which has prompted the agency to seek from a court the civil
forfeiture of his multimillion-peso assets allegedly amassed from
illegal sources.
“We won’t file a case if we
believe that the case is not strong,” Aquino stressed, expressing
surprise over Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez’s pronouncements
regarding the cases filed against Boratong. The shabu tiangge in
Pasig City was dismantled by elements of the Anti-Illegal Drugs
Special Operations Task Force in February last year.
Joint teams of the PNP and the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Boratong after his
alleged number two man and half-brother Samer Palao disclosed his
involvement in running the illegal drugs bazaar.
Meanwhile, the PNP chief,
Director General Oscar Calderon, acknowledged the valuable
assistance of the AMLC in successful operations in the pursuit of
kidnappers, bank robbers and drug dealers, including Boratong.
“We have a number of successful
police operations against criminal syndicates who tried to launder
money. The police managed to trace the criminals with the help of
AMLC, and eventually arrested the suspects,” Calderon said.
Under the Antimoney Laundering
Act (AMLA), the AMLC is authorized to trace bank accounts of
personalities believed to have laundered money from illegal
activities such as kidnapping, bank robbery, the traffic of illegal
drugs and terrorism in the absence of a court order.
Aquino revealed that the AMLC has
been responsible for freezing some P1.4-billion funds and assets
sourced from illegal activities but refused to disclose the names of
the individuals whose properties have been frozen.
The AMLA also compels banks to
report to the council any bank account maintained by individuals
with deposits of over P500,000.
Aquino further pointed out that
persons who deposit large amounts with banks on a daily basis may
also be questioned if they are not known to have any means to raise
such an amount.
--Jeannette I. Andrade
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