The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has uncovered nearly ₱6.8 billion in financial activity across bank accounts belonging to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Mans Carpio.
During a House Committee on Justice impeachment hearing on Wednesday, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura detailed a massive trail of financial records reported by various banking institutions.
The findings include 313 “covered transactions” and 17 “suspicious transactions” involving the Vice President, alongside 317 covered and 16 suspicious transactions linked to Carpio.
Breakdown of the Billions
The reported figures highlight a significant disparity between the couple’s declared assets and their recorded cash flow:
- Total Flagged Volume: Approximately ₱6.8 billion.
- VP Duterte’s Accounts: ₱3.77 billion in total activity (₱1.83 billion in inflows; ₱1.21 billion in outflows).
- Atty. Carpio’s Accounts: ₱2.99 billion in total activity (₱2.59 billion in inflows; ₱343.32 million in outflows).
- Undetermined Transactions: Over ₱791 million in records that remain unclear.
The bulk of the movement was categorized as credit memos (₱1.41 billion), debit memos (₱1.03 billion), and fund transfers (₱521.86 million). Other notable movements included ₱218.74 million in pre-terminated time deposits.
Understanding the Red Flags
Buenaventura clarified the distinction between the types of reports filed by banks. He explained that covered transactions refer to “bank deposits exceeding ₱500,000 in a single day,” which trigger automatic reporting.
However, suspicious transactions carry more weight, as they are flagged due to potential “red flags or doubts over their legitimacy.”
According to Buenaventura:
”Such transactions may involve structured movements, deviations from a client’s normal behavior or other indicators of possible money laundering.”
These alerts are issued regardless of the amount if there is a suspected link to unlawful sources.
The SALN Discrepancy
The revelation has sparked intense scrutiny from lawmakers, specifically regarding the Vice President’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua pointed out that these multi-billion peso movements were conspicuously absent from Duterte’s official filings.
Data from the Office of the Ombudsman further complicated the narrative. Records show that Duterte declared “no cash on hand or bank deposits” for six straight years (2019–2024).
Despite the lack of declared liquid cash, her net worth reportedly surged from ₱7 million in 2007 to ₱88.4 million by 2024.