AMLC: Sara Duterte, husband had P4.4B in covered, suspicious bank transactions - GMA Network

At least P4.4 billion worth of covered and suspicious transactions were recorded under the bank accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura said Monday.

Buenaventura made the testimony during Day 33 of the impeachment trial of the Vice President, saying the value was reduced from P6.7 billion, which the AMLC official testified in the House justice panel, to P4.4 billion after a correction was made by one of the subject banks, BPI.

Of the 4.4 billion, he also testified that P1.63 billion accounted for inflows, while P1.3 billion was for outflows.

He also said there are P1.4 billion worth of covered and suspicious transactions with undetermined inflows and outflows.

The Anti-Money Laundering Law defines a covered transaction as "a single, series, or combination of transactions involving a total amount in excess of P4 million or an equivalent amount in foreign currency based on the prevailing exchange rate within five consecutive banking days except those between a covered institution and a person who, at the time of the transaction, was a properly identified client and the amount is commensurate with the business or financial capacity of the client; or those with an underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, origin or economic justification."

Buenaventura explained the expanded scope of the covered transactions during his direct examination by private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia.

“What we submitted in the House had a different coverage [as stated in the subpoena], which is 2006 to 2025, and it only involved banks. The subpoena from the Honorable [impeachment] court covers 2007 to 2025, and all covered personalities, not just the banks,” he said.

“A covered person also corrected 13 covered transaction reports, and so, we had a validation. The ones we submitted to the Honorable Court last July 30 had already been corrected by us,” he added.

Also on Monday, Buenaventura testified that there were P5.3 billion worth of covered and suspicious transactions involving 15 firms in which Duterte and her husband have business interests.

Of the P5.3 billion, P2.29 billion accounted for inflows, while P2.7 billion were outflows.

There were also P356 million worth of transactions for which it could not be determined whether they were inflows or outflows.

During cross examination, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan asked Buenaventura whether the P4.4 billion and P5.3 billion totals were bloated because they were based on aggregated transaction amounts.

“In other words, bloated na yung amount sa reporting kapag aggregated total ang ginamit, tama?” Vinluan asked.

(The amount reported is bloated when an aggregate total is used, right?)

Buenaventura replied: “That would be correct if you are referring to the money involved. But what gets reported to us is the bank transaction. Regardless of where the money came from, that is not what we look at. We look at the transaction.”

Vinluan, however, pressed the AMLC official, asking, “But in that scenario, if you aggregate the total or you provide an aggregated total, it's way much bigger than the actual money involved, correct?”

Buenaventura maintained that the reporting did not result in the amount being bloated.

“I cannot answer for the actual money involved, but with the [bank] transaction, it is what is reported,” he said.

Vinluan again pressed the AMLC official on whether the figures he testified to were bloated, prompting an objection from Divinagracia.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero sustained Divinagracia’s objection and ordered Vinluan to drop the line of questioning. Vinluan complied.

Back in April, Buenaventura also told the House committee on justice that at least 18 of the transactions cited in the affidavit of former senator Antono Trillanes IV submitted to the House committee on justice correspond to entries in AMLC records, including three transactions allegedly involving supposed drug personality Samuel “Sammy” Uy.

The 18 transactions confirmed by Buenaventura were randomly selected by House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of the ML party-list.

Of the 18 transactions, Buenaventura said three were deposited in batches amounting to P7.4 million each in March 2011, October 2011, and April 2012.

However, Buenaventura clarified that the AMLC cannot confirm whether such three batches of transfers came from Uy as it only monitors transactions reported by covered institutions and not direct ownership of accounts.

Buenaventura also told the House justice panel that the Vice President was the subject of 27 suspicious transaction reports submitted by covered institutions from August 2024 to January 2026 concerning suspected drug trafficking, graft and corruption, and malversation of public funds and property.

The AMLC said the reports were triggered by references to the House Quad Committee hearings on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, news reports alleging involvement of the Vice President’s husband Manases in the 2017 P6.4-billion shabu shipment, the 2025 impeachment complaint against Duterte, and alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds. —AOL/MCG, GMA News