THE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it has obtained another Freeze Order covering assets linked to a ‘prominent’ lawmaker, a corporation, and several associated individuals and entities in connection with alleged anomalies involving flood control projects and a ‘broader government budget kickback scheme.’
In a statement issued on Thursday night, AMLC said the Court of Appeals (CA), in a Resolution dated September 21,2026, issued the Freeze Order after finding probable cause that the assets are related to plunder under Republic Act No. 7080.
‘Financial investigation revealed that the individuals involved had no apparent operating revenues to support the scale of their investments,’ AMLC noted.
Funds associated with these investments, it added, were also moved through ‘multiple layers’ involving individual intermediaries, corporations, bank accounts, a money service business, and a virtual asset platform.
According to AMLC, 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 traced these transactions to funds allegedly associated with corruption and plunder cases involving the lawmaker,’ the Council said.
AMLC explained that the Freeze Order covers 86 bank accounts, four investment accounts, one insurance policy and 25 virtual asset wallets.
Fintech as a channel for illicit transactions
‘The investigation highlights the increasing use of financial technology in transactions involving suspected illicit funds,’ AMLC noted.
In this case, it said funds flowed through virtual asset service providers and multiple virtual asset wallets, illustrating how ’emerging’ financial channels can be used to add layers to transactions and make the movement of funds more difficult to trace.
The AMLC said it will continue working closely with partner agencies and financial service providers to identify, trace, restrain, and recover suspected illicit assets, while preventing the misuse of both traditional and emerging financial channels for corruption, money laundering, and other unlawful activities.