Banks Told To Enhance Surveillance Of Illegal Poll Activities

Banks and financial institutions should be cautious of the potential misuse of their systems for poll-related offenses amid the upcoming midterm elections in May, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

- KEISHA TA-ASAN

Abuse of state resources, vote buying and selling are among offenses that must be thwarted by enhancing surveillance and monitoring of financial channels, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in a memorandum to BSP-supervised financial institutions.

"BSFIs should reinforce their measures and controls to ensure that appropriate customer onboarding processes, effective fraud management system and ongoing account and transaction monitoring capabilities are commensurate to respond against these fraudulent activities," Fonacier said.

Fraud detection and anti-money laundering controls must be tightened by BSFIs to detect and prevent suspicious transactions, she noted.