Are Ofw Remittances In Jeopardy?

[Dave Hounddriver]

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/20/1478891/ofw-remittances-peril

 

MANILA, Philippines - Alarmed over the move by developed countries to shut down remittance firms due to suspicions that these are being used to funnel funds to terrorists, the Philippine remittance industry is appealing to the Aquino administration and multilateral agencies to intervene.

 

Since last year, at least four countries – the United States, Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom, which have large population of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) – have shut down remittance firms, supposedly to fight terrorists.

 

Specifically, the banks in these countries are closing the accounts of money transfer operators, restricting the flow of remittance from these nations. 

 

Two of the country’s biggest remittance organizations – the Association of Bank Remittance Officers, Inc. (Abroi) and the Association of Private Remittance Services Companies Inc. (Appraise) have banded together to jointly ask the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as well as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to formally appeal to these developed countries which have shut down their respective remittance business.

 

I-Remit, a listed remittance company which is part of Appraise, said the industry is appealing to authorities to initiate government-to-government discussions.

. . .

 

 

More at the link above.

 

So there is a lot of noise about remittance companies being shut down but just last month I had a friend in US send me $1,000 in cash.  He sent it via Moneygram.  It cost him $10  He said it was easy to do and I know it was easy for me to pick up US$ here so where is the peril?  I think I needed id and the secret number to collect the cash.

[Jack Peterson]

 I think I needed id and the secret number to collect the cash.

 

 Sometimes they put a Question that only the sender and the receiver would know and be able to answer seems secure enough to me with the I/D amount sent and by whom etc.This happened 2 or 3 times over the years when things were escalating over the ME 

JP

[Thomas]

Well. After the 9/11 terrorist attack has USA tried to stop terrorism by making it harder to transfer money. Such make it harder/slower for COMMON people, but has it stoped any terrorists...?

 

If stoping these types of money transfers, then terrorists will just use some other way.  For instance it's IMPOSSIBLE to stop money transfers for COMPANIES, because if they do, then would the world trade fall appart...

[DavidK]

It's not impossible to stop company remittances. All transfers are checked by banks for potential terrorist or money laundering activities. Training is given to all staff to be able to recognise potential dodgy transactions and patterns of money transfers which may conceal illegal activities. All part of "Know your customer" regulations and any staff who fail to report anything which may be linked to terrorist/money laundering activities may become liable to prosecution themselves.

[Thomas]

It's not impossible to stop company remittances. All transfers are checked by banks for potential terrorist or money laundering activities. Training is given to all staff to be able to recognise potential dodgy transactions and patterns of money transfers which may conceal illegal activities. All part of "Know your customer" regulations and any staff who fail to report anything which may be linked to terrorist/money laundering activities may become liable to prosecution themselves.

Well. It's EASY to stop COMPANY transfers, but then LEGAL trades will be stoped too...

 

But it's more or less IMPOSSIBLE to find illegal transfers as they do now (if the illegal ones aren't stupid in process or try to make it to much compared to the legal part they have in their "front" business) because to even have a chance to find the illegal ones EACH WHOLE BUSINESS would need to be investigated DETAILED, and even with such investigations WOULDN'T almost any FAKE transfers be found if the fake is done "proper".  I bet I can manage to make fake transfers without they are found to be fake  :mocking:  if I would try even with an audit checking ALL things in the company,  if I would do it in a company where much of the business is legal. I DON'T tell how   :)    but I asume a biger terrorist organisation have no problem finding someone who can.  

 

Conclusion:  Such make it just harder for LEGAL transfers  :th_unfair:

while illegal transfers get THROUGH ANYWAY  :1 (103):

So better skip it - except for the common frauds with bounsing BANK CHECKS.  THEM they better have a system to stop by a delayed process, but leave the topic TRANSFERS in piece...

[jon1]

There is always bitcoin...

[DavidK]

Not the case Thomas. Legal businesses don't suddenly start making illegal payments and anything out of their ordinary course of business would raise questions from their bankers. Banks take a great deal of care to check their customers bona fides and are very careful with anything that is potentially open to abuse, from the type of business (money exchange/remittances to the places where money is going, i.e. the less well regulated countries in the world).

I think you'd find it much more difficult than you suspect to make such a payment, particularly if it was for a significant amount and out of the ordinary for your account.

[Jack Peterson]

 I can see this being addressed soon by a certain Mr Hullier of that well know money Transfer company.

He is at this time the Philippines Ambassador to Italy and I can think of No one better to have this addressed by and make life better for himself and the Filipinos abroad

 

JMHO

 

JP :tiphat:

[Thomas]

Not the case Thomas. Legal businesses don't suddenly start making illegal payments and anything out of their ordinary course of business would raise questions from their bankers. Banks take a great deal of care to check their customers bona fides and are very careful with anything that is potentially open to abuse, from the type of business (money exchange/remittances to the places where money is going, i.e. the less well regulated countries in the world).

Are you a bank man, who BELIEVE you can do that?   :)

Big terrorist organisations have similar to spy organisations "sleeping cells" , which LIVE LEGAL for many years - until they are needed. Of course this can include building up LEGAL businesses too.  Such companies CAN have LEGAL jobs OUTSOURSED to e g the Philippines. NO CHANCE banks or secret services will find if such companies sneak in ILLEGAL transfers to people/companies doing "outsourse" work, even by an audit of the company - if the illegal part is hidden proper in a company type where the done WORK part is hard to value for other people. So if the "sleeping cell" companies are made working with such, then it's possible to move much money illegaly...

That's why I claim such methods can just stop STUPID acting criminals, and make it harder for HONEST people   :bash: 

I think you'd find it much more difficult than you suspect to make such a payment, particularly if it was for a significant amount and out of the ordinary for your account.

I'm SURE it's EASY to hide illegal transfers, if hiding it among legal business of suiting type, but we aren't allowed to tell illegal solutions here, so I will NOT tell you any details of any of the solution possibilites   :)  

(NOT same, but I made a solution for a West European company. That company want to do all LEGAL, and do in WEST, but to reduce risks for a partner in EASTERN Europe, a special solution was made to try to avoid the East Eurpean Mafia, which in some of these countries are same/very close to the government  :mocking:   and including their banks too. That cooperation has ended, but were never found by the mafia government the years it was running... That was much HARDER than the solution I'm talking about now  :)

The biger legal business the company has, the biger amounts can be moved illegal without being noticed.

The illegal, who CAN be FOUND by audits, are them, who aren't clever enough to make it STAY within LOOKING ordinary...  :mocking:

[scott h]

In response to OP......a resounding NO

 

There is no way that remittances be stopped, A. it is just to much of the GNP and B. to many folks depend upon it.

 

After all the security checks and stuff, it might be a bit more expensive, and not as easy as people are used to, but I will bet the farm there will always be away for folks to transfer money :cheersty:

Edited July 23, 2015 by scott h