While it is unlikely the Philippines will withdraw from the so-called "gray list" of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) by October, such a move could be achieved by January next year.

The comments followed comments on Monday by Philippine Central Bank President Eli Remolona, who is also chairman of the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Commission (AMLC).

FATF added them to its gray list in June 2021 after the Philippines found 18 flaws in anti-money laundering (AML), terrorism financing (CFT), and proliferation financing (PF) related to chemical, nuclear and biological weapons.

Problems the Philippines needed to address included "demonstrating that supervisors are using AML/CFT controls to mitigate risks associated with casino junkets."

Lemolona said the government is ramping up monitoring of casino junk, and the Philippine Entertainment and Gaming Corporation, the country's casino regulator, is working to address the issue.

"We have made very significant progress ... officially implemented 15 of the 18 [concerns]," Lemolona said in remarks on Monday, cited by BusinessWorld Online.

"In October, [FATF] will decide whether it has implemented 18 action plans. Then it checks between October and January. January is the end date," he added, as quoted by the Philippine star.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has instructed all relevant government agencies to "write their own deliverables so that the country can withdraw from the gray area" within the year, according to a February update from the Anti-Money Laundering Commission.

The commission said these items were reflected in the government's anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and anti-proliferation financing strategy for 2023-2027.

The jurisdiction of the FATF Gray List is subject to enhanced monitoring by the FATF. According to a research paper by the International Monetary Fund, regions resulting from these measures "may experience disruptions to capital flows."

FATF said in its June 28 update after its plenary meeting that it would continue to include the Philippines on its watchlist for the time being. 동행복권파워볼

The FATF urged the U.S., the primary regional jurisdiction for athletics and online gaming, to resolve outstanding issues as soon as "all deadlines expire in January 2023."

In May, BusinessWorld Online cited data from Moody's Analytics Inc and said the Philippines was among the top five countries in Southeast Asia for money laundering activities from 2018 to 2023.

"The number of money laundering events added in the Philippines increased by 45% from 2022 to 2023," the outlet reported, citing the Moody's Analytics database.