Philippines freezes 592 bank accounts in flood scam probe

Manila: The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has secured a fresh court order to freeze 592 additional bank accounts suspected of being linked to massive corruption in flood-control projects.

This latest order comes just days after the Court of Appeals directed the freezing of 135 accounts earlier in the week, underscoring the scale of the widening investigation.

“The sheer magnitude of assets involved reflects the alarming scope of corruption tied to these flood-control projects,” AMLC Executive Director Matthew David said in a statement issued late Friday.

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According to the watchdog, the freeze order is a critical step toward filing both civil and criminal cases against those accused of laundering illicit funds. Authorities are also working with other agencies to trace and seize more assets connected to the alleged scam.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has vowed to crack down on those implicated in the scandal. Earlier this month, Marcos established the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to assess how much public money was siphoned off from projects designed to mitigate flooding in the typhoon-prone country.

Many of these projects, officials say, were either substandard or never built. A Senate committee recently heard that the potential losses from the corruption could run into trillions of pesos, raising concerns about the misuse of funds in one of the Philippines’ most expensive infrastructure challenges.

The scandal has once again put a spotlight on the country’s long-standing struggle with flood-mitigation programs, as investigators push to recover stolen billions and hold perpetrators accountable.