The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has integrated artificial intelligence into its operations as part of a technology upgrade aimed at strengthening its ability to analyze financial data and combat money laundering.
AMLC executive director Matthew David disclosed the AI deployment during a Senate budget hearing, saying additional funding provided the agency with resources to upgrade its technology infrastructure.
“We were able to procure the necessary equipment, technology, and integrate artificial intelligence in our processes,” David said.
The technology investment gives the AMLC additional tools for processing and analyzing financial information as it investigates suspicious transactions and other possible money-laundering activities.
The AMLC handles large amounts of financial intelligence, including suspicious transaction reports submitted by institutions covered by the country’s anti-money laundering law. AI and other analytical technologies can help process such datasets and identify transaction patterns for further examination.
David cited senators Panfilo Lacson and Sherwin Gatchalian for supporting additional funding for the agency’s technology requirements.
The budget increase followed concerns over whether the AMLC had sufficient technological capabilities to keep pace with increasingly complex methods of moving and concealing illicit funds.
Lacson said improving the AMLC’s technology was important as criminals increasingly use more sophisticated means to move money and obscure financial trails.
Gatchalian had similarly pushed for additional resources for the agency’s information technology infrastructure and analytical capabilities.
The technology upgrade expands the AMLC’s capacity to use automated tools in examining financial information, potentially allowing investigators to narrow down large volumes of transactions and identify patterns that warrant closer scrutiny.
