Monetary Board confirms Racela as executive director of AMLC

August 31, 2017

The  Monetary  Board  of  the  Bangko  Sentral  ng  Pilipinas  (BSP)  recently  confirmed  the appointment   of  Mel   Georgie   B.   Racela   as   executive director   of   the   Anti-­‐Money Laundering  Council  Secretariat  (AMLCS),  following  his  appointment  by  the  AMLC, a central bank statement said Thursday.

Racela  was  designated  officer­‐in-charge  of  the  AMLCS  in  February  of  this  year.

With  21 ‐years  of  experience  in  the  BSP,   Racela  served  as  an  examiner  in the  Supervision  and  Examination  Sector,  a  lawyer  in  the  Office of  the  General  Counsel  and   Legal   Services,  an investigator   of   the   AMLC Secretariat’s   Compliance   and   Investigation Group,   and   as head of   the   Anti-­‐Money   Laundering   Specialist   Group.

Before joining   the AMLCS,   Racela  was  Deputy  Director  for  the  Special  Projects  and  Reports  Group  of  the  Office  of  Supervisory  Policy Development.

A  certified  public  accountant,  Racela  obtained  his undergraduate  degree  from  De  La  Salle  University  and  law  degree  from  San  Beda  College.

Recently,  the  AMLC  adopted rules  on the  imposition  of  administrative  sanctions  on  covered  persons,  with  casinos now deemed  as  a “covered person” under  the Anti-­‐Money Laundering  Law,  as  amended.

Racela’s  pressing  task  is  to  oversee  the  Philippines’  national  risk  assessment  to  determine  effectiveness   of   the   country’s  anti-­‐money   laundering   regime,   and   the   APG’s upcoming  mutual  evaluation.

Racela’s  vision  is  for  the  AMLC  Secretariat  to  be  a  world-­‐class  FIU  that  takes  an  active  role  in  enhancing  financial  system  integrity.

His  goals  are  to  align policies  and  rules  with  international  standards  and  to firmly enforce  the  law  and  the rules while  nurturing  a culture of  compliance  among  covered  persons.  He  aims  to  elevate the  country’s  international  ratings,  such  as  those  made  by  the  Financial  Action Task  Force.  DMS