Manila: The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has announced that it successfully secured another freeze order targeting the assets of a construction firm and several related entities and individuals allegedly involved in irregular flood control projects. The AMLC revealed that the Court of Appeals (CA) issued the freeze order recently, which primarily impacts a private construction company identified for its significant number of suspected ghost flood control projects.

According to Philippines News Agency, the freeze order encompasses various entities and individuals believed to be connected to the operations of the construction firm. The assets affected by the order include 280 bank accounts, 22 insurance policies, three securities accounts, and eight air assets. The Court of Appeals determined that there were sufficient grounds to associate these assets with potential violations of Republic Act 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as malversation of public funds and property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code.

AMLC Executive Director Matthew David emphasized that this action illustrates the council's ongoing determination to protect public funds. "The filing of this petition for a freeze order underscores the AMLC's firm commitment to recover every peso of public funds that may have been misused," he stated.

This recent development contributes to the increasing number of assets frozen since authorities began scrutinizing anomalies in flood control projects. To date, the AMLC has frozen a substantial number of assets across various categories, including 4,679 bank accounts, 283 insurance policies, 255 motor vehicles, 178 real properties, 16 electronic wallet accounts, and three securities accounts linked to controversial projects.

The cumulative value of frozen assets has now reached PHP13 billion, with investigators anticipating that this figure will grow as the investigation progresses.