The Executive Director of the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council, Matthew David, has requested to be transferred to another position within the nation’s central bank.
David was appointed to the role in 2022, helping the nation’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CTF) agency in its successful removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list in February of 2025.
More recently, the AMLC has been tasked with freezing assets linked to the flood control corruption case, which rocked the nation last year.
The AMLC notes that, ‘during his tenure as Executive Director, AMLC froze PHP27.8 billion ($461.9 million) worth of assets from 862 individuals and 648 entities in relation to the flood control corruption issue’.
The handling of the corruption scandal is particularly important given another evaluation round by the FATF taking place this year, with the nation potentially at risk of returning to the grey list if the global AML/CTF watchdog finds the scope of its reaction to the scandal insufficient.
In light of David’s transfer request, the AMLC has designated Acting Director Arnold Kabanlit as Officer-in-Charge while the council searches for a new Executive Director.
