MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a freeze order on more than 100 bank accounts, digital wallets, and other financial assets tied to a prominent lawmaker and several entities facing investigation over alleged corruption and anomalies in government flood control projects.
In a resolution dated September 21, the appellate court granted the request of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) after determining there was probable cause that the targeted assets are connected to plunder under Republic Act No. 7080.
The order temporarily blocks withdrawals, transfers, or dispositions involving 86 bank accounts, four investment accounts, one insurance policy, and 25 virtual asset wallets. While the AMLC confirmed the coverage of the freeze order, it has refrained from naming the lawmaker, company, or private individuals involved.
According to the council, its financial probe revealed that those implicated possessed “no apparent operating revenues to support the scale of their investments.”
Investigators noted that funds were routed through layered networks consisting of personal conduits, shell companies, traditional banks, money services, and cryptocurrency platforms.
“The use of multiple recipients and financial channels complicated the tracing of the funds and increased their transactional distance from their alleged source,” the AMLC said.
The agency stressed that the suspect transactions directly originated from public funds linked to corruption schemes involving the unidentified legislator. It also highlighted how modern financial technology was leveraged to obscure the trail, using virtual asset service providers and digital wallets to make the money flow significantly harder to track.
The freeze order is the latest development in the government’s crackdown on public works kickbacks and flood control irregularities.
“The AMLC will continue working closely with partner agencies and financial service providers to identify, trace, restrain, and recover suspected illicit assets,” the council said.