House approves bills easing deposit secrecy rules, regulating use of financial accounts

HOUSE LAWMAKERS on Monday approved on second reading a measure seeking to ease deposit secrecy rules and a bill regulating the use of financial accounts.

During the plenary session, congressmen approved on second reading House Bill No. 7446, which seeks to ease bank deposit secrecy rules to give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the power to investigate deposit accounts of bank officials and employees for fraud.

The bill proposes amendments to Republic Act No. 1405 or the Bank Secrecy Law.

It seeks to exempt from the Bank Secrecy Law the BSP’s inquiry or examination of deposits in relation to possible fraud, serious irregularity, or unlawful activity being committed by bank officials.

The results of such inquiry and examination will be used exclusively by the BSP and shall not be made available to any other person or entity, except to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Department of Justice, and the courts.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTSLawmakers also passed on second reading House Bill No. 7393 or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act.

The proposed measure prohibits the use of bank accounts and e-wallets for suspicious activities, with those found guilty to pay fines or face imprisonment.

Money mule schemes involve opening, buying, renting, selling, or lending a financial or e-wallet account to receive, transfer or withdraw proceeds from criminal activity.

Meanwhile, social engineering schemes involve a person falsely presenting him or herself as a representative of a financial institution to gain the trust of others and take over their accounts or electronic communication to ask an account owner for their information.

Lastly, acts of economic sabotage involve offenses committed by syndicates in large scale or using a mass mailer.

Under the bill, the central bank can examine and investigate financial accounts or e-wallets suspected to be involved in these prohibited acts. — B.M.D. Cruz