ICE, Philippine Bureau of Customs to Establish Trade Transparency Unit
The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) and ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) signed a letter of intent on June 20 to establish a trade transparency unit in Manila that will exchange information and promote detection of trade-based money laundering and commercial fraud violations, according to an ICE news release (here). With this partnership, HSI will give the Philippine BOC access to the Data Analysis and Research for Trade Transparency System, a computer system that contains domestic and foreign trade data and makes trade transactions transparent by allowing users to see both ends of the transactions, ICE said.
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ICE said the agreement will allow HSI and BOC to identify “trade anomalies and financial irregularities” indicative of significant violations such as money laundering, customs fraud and the movement of counterfeit goods. Deputy Director of HSI’s Office of International Affairs David A. Thompson said this bilateral customs agreement would both facilitate “international cooperative efforts in the Asia-Pacific region” and provide HSI with “another ally to further advance and improve trade-based money laundering investigations and other related crimes.”