NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE 
S.B. No. 2039
S»cnate
of lljf S'raTtnrp
23 MAR 22 P4 57
RECEIVED BY:
Introduced by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri
AN ACT
PROHIBITING MONEY MULES AND OTHER FRAUDULENT ACTS INVOLVING 
BANK ACCOUNTS, E-WALLETS, AND OTHER FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, 
PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The use of digital banking and online financial transactions has accelerated amid 
the COVID-19 global pandemic, allowing millions of Filipinos to perform banking tasks 
without going outside of their homes. Based on a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 
as of February 2022, 70 percent of the Philippines' adult population are online banking 
users. The convenience and accessibility of online banking, coupled with the promise of 
security made by various digital banking platforms, led to an increase in users over the 
past few years.
However, fraudulent financial activities are on the rise as the world adjusts to fast- 
paced technological advancements in digital banking and e-commerce in the financial 
sector. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) received 42,456 complaints between 2020 
and 2021 related to digital financial fraud and called for its regulated financial institutions 
to take steps in preventing cyber attacks in the financial sector.
As reliance on digital transactions grows, the times call for the augmented 
protection of millions of users from money mules and other fraudulent schemes involving 
bank accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts.
This bill prohibits money mules and other fraudulent financial activities in order to 
protect Filipinos from becoming victims of such schemes. It aims to declare certain 
activities defined herein as a form of economic sabotage and a heinous crime and seeks 
to penalize persons found guilty of committing financial fraud as defined by Its provisions.
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
JUANTMIGUEL F. ZUBIRI


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
s.B. No. 2039
ot Hip
23 HAR 22 P4 57
Introduced by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
AN ACT
PROHIBITING MONEY MULES AND OTHER FRAUDULENT ACTS INVOLVING 
BANK ACCOUNTS, E-WALLETS, AND OTHER FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, PROVIDING 
PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Phiiippines in Congress 
assembied:
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Section 1. Short Title.
2 Financial Fraud Act of 2023."
This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Money Mule and
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes that with the advent of 
digital banking and finance and electronic commerce (e-commerce), there is a need to 
protect the public from cybercriminals and criminal syndicates who target bank accounts, 
electronic wallets (e-wallets), or other financial accounts or lure account holders into 
perpetrating or aiding fraudulent activities. It shall therefore be the policy of the State to 
undertake measures to protect all persons from falling prey to the various fraudulent 
schemes by regulating the use of bank accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts, 
and preventing their use in fraudulent activities. Furthermore, due to the deleterious effect 
on the economy, the large-scale commission of certain crimes under this Act is hereby 
declared a form of economic sabotage and a heinous crime and shall be severely punished.
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Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms are
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a.
b.
c.
Account Takeover \s committed by a person who by any means, such as but not 
iimited to force, intimidation, manipulation, or deceit, gains access and control of 
an account owner's bank account, e-wallet, or other financial account;
Account owner refers to the owner/s of a bank account, e-wallet or other financial 
account, as registered with the bank or financial institution;
Bank Account refers to an interest or non-interest bearing deposit, trust, 
investment and other transaction account maintained with a bank or a financial 
institution;


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d. Bulk or Mass Messaging refers to the act of sending messages by means of
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electronic mail (email), short messaging service (SMS), chat message, or other
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written, digital or electronic form of communication to an aggregate or total of
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thirty (30) recipients or more, counted from the first to the last act of sending;
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e. Electronic Wallet (e-wallet) refers to a transaction account which stores monetary
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value through an electronic Instrument or device, which is pre-funded to enable
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the processing of financial transactions, including but not limited to payments or
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fund transfers to other individuals or entities. Examples of e-wallets include
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electronic money or virtual asset accounts stored in mobile phones or web-based
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apps.
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f. Money Mule refers to any person who obtains, receives, acquires, transfers,
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withdraws or otherwise transacts with money, funds, virtual assets, property or
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proceeds derived from crimes, offenses or social engineering schemes, on behalf
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or for the benefit of another person, including the perpetrators of the crime,
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offense, or social engineering scheme, as punished under Section 4(a) of this Act;
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For this purpose, money, funds, property or proceeds shall include but not be
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limited to coins or currency of legal tender of the Philippines or another jurisdiction,
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electronic money, virtual assets, securities or negotiable Instruments, other
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monetary or financial instruments, or all things which are or may be the object of
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appropriation.
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g. Other Financial Accounts refer to new or emerging forms of financial accounts
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other than bank accounts and e-wallets;
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h. Phishing refers to a social engineering scheme whereby a person falsely represents
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himself or herself to another person as a legitimate institution, entity or person or
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as a representative thereof, for the purpose of obtaining the latter's sensitive
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identifying information and/or accessing and transacting the latter's bank, e-wallet,
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or other financial account;
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i. Sensitive Identifying Information refers to any information that can be used to
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access as bank, e-wallet, or other financial accounts such as, but not limited to,
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usernames, passwords, bank account details, credit card, debit card. Personal
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Identification Number (PIN), among other electronic information or credentials;
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j. Social Engineering Scheme refers to the use of deception or other fraudulent
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means to obtain confidential or personal information, including sensitive identifying
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information, of another individual or entity.
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Social engineering schemes may be committed in-person or through various media
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or platforms, including but not limited to:
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1. Electronic mail;
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2. Short Message Service, text messages, or other message services;
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3. Social media sites;
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4. Websites;
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5. Telephone or voice calls;
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6. Mobile or other electronic applications;
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7. Advertisements; or
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8. Search engines.


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Sec. 4. Prohibited Acts. - The following acts shall constitute an offense
2 punishable under this Act:
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a. 
Money mule. It shall be prohibited for any person to act as a money mule or 
engage another person to act as a money mule, as defined below. The following 
acts shall be punishable under this Act:
1. The registration or opening of a bank account, e-wallet or other financial 
account with the use of a fictitious name or identity, falsified or 
tampered identification documents, or by using the identity or 
identification documents of another person;
2. The sale or transfer of a bank account, e-wallet or other financial 
account to any person who is not its registered account owner, or 
otherwise allowing the use of a bank account, e-wallet or other financial 
account by persons who are not its registered owner: Provided, That the 
offense hereunder may be committed by the account owner or any 
person who holds or possesses an account registered in the name of 
another person; Provided further, That if the sale, transfer, or allowing 
of others to use the account is knowingly made to aid other persons to 
commit an unlawful activity or to receive, withdraw or otherwise transact 
with money or property constituting proceeds derived from an unlawful 
activity, the penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher.
3. The purchase, use, borrowing or possession by a person who is not an 
account owner of another person's bank account, e-wallet or other 
financial account: Provided, That if the purchase, use, borrowing or 
possession by a person is made for the purpose of committing an 
unlawful activity or for receiving, withdrawing, or otherwise transacting 
with money or property constituting proceeds from an unlawful activity, 
the penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher; Recruiting, 
enlisting, contracting, hiring or inducing any person to register a bank 
account, e-wallet or other financial account for the purpose of later 
transferring or ceding control or possession of the same to any other 
person who is not the registered account owner; Provided further. That 
if the person being recruited, enlisted, contracted, hired, or induced to 
open or register an account is a minor below 18 years old or senior 
citizen aged 60 years old or above, the penalty to be imposed shall be 
one (1) degree higher;
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Phishing and Social Engineering Schemes. It shall be prohibited for a person to 
commit phishing including any variations thereof and social engineering schemes, 
as defined under Section 3 (h) and (j) of this Act: Provided, That loss, damage 
or injury to other persons as a result of the social engineering scheme is not a 
necessary element of this offense, and the lack thereof may not be interposed as 
a defense; Provided further. That the offense was committed by way of bulk or 
mass messaging, the penalty to be imposed shall be one degree higher.
c. 
Account takeover. A person shall be prohibited from committing account 
takeover, as defined under Section 3 (a) of this Act;


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d. Economic Sabotage. Any offense defined under this Section shall be considered 
as an offense involving economic sabotage when any of the following 
circumstances is present:
1. The offense was committed by a syndicate;
2. The offense was committed in large scale; or
3. The individual or aggregate amount involved in the offense is greater 
than Two Million Pesos (PhP2/000/000.00).
For this purpose, an act shall be deemed committed by a syndicate if the offense 
was carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with 
one another, while an act shall be deemed committed in large scale if the offense was 
committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group.
Sec. 5. Other Offenses, - The following shall also constitute an offense:
a.
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Aiding or Abetting. Any person who willfully abets or aids in the commission of any 
of the offenses enumerated under Section 4 of this Act shall be held liable; and 
Attempt in the Commission of an Offense. Any person who attempts to commit 
any of the offenses enumerated under Section 4 of this Act shall be held liable.
Sec. 6. Liability Under Other Laws. - A prosecution under this Act shall be 
without prejudice to any liability for violation of any provision of the Revised Penal Code, 
as amended, or special laws, including but not limited to Republic Act Nos. 8484, 9160, 
and 10175, as amended.
Sec. 7. Penalties. - Any person found guilty of the punishable act under Section 
4 (a) shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor in its minimum period and a 
fine of at least One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) but not exceeding Two 
Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00), or both.
Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in Section 4 (b) 
and (c) shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor in its maximum period 
a fine of at least Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00) but not exceeding Five 
Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00), or both: Provided, That the maximum penalty 
shall be imposed if the target or victim of the social engineering scheme is or includes a 
senior citizen aged sixty (60) years old or above at the time the offense was committed or 
attempted.
Any person found guilty of any of the offenses that constitutes economic sabotage 
under Section 4 (d) shall be punished with life imprisonment and a fine of not less than 
One Million Pesos (Pl,000,000.00) but not more than Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00).
Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in Section 5 shall 
be punished with imprisonment one (1) degree lower than that of the prescribed penalty 
for the offense or a fine of at least One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) but not 
exceeding Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) or both.


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Sec. 8. Jurisdiction. - The Regional Trial Court, especially designated as cybercrime 
court, if any, shall have jurisdiction over any violation of the provisions of this Act, including 
any violation committed by a Filipino national regardless of the place of commission. 
Jurisdiction shall lie if any of the elements was committed within the Philippines or 
committed with the use of any computer system wholly or partly situated in the country, 
or when by such commission any damage is caused to a natural or juridical person who, at 
the time the offense was committed, was in the Philippines.
Sec. 9. Genera!Principles Reiating to Internationai Cooperation. - AlI relevant 
international Instruments on international cooperation in criminal matters, arrangements 
agreed on the basis of uniform or reciprocal legislation, and domestic laws, to the widest 
extent possible for the purposes of investigations or proceedings concerning criminal 
offenses related to computer systems and data, or for the collection of evidence in 
electronic form of a criminal offense, shall be given full force and effect.
Sec. 10. Enforcement - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine 
National Police (PNP) shall be responsible for the efficient and effective law enforcement 
of the provisions of this Act. The cybercrime unit or center established under Section 10 of 
Republic Act No. 10175 shall exclusively handle all cases involving violations of this Act: 
Provided, That they shall coordinate closely with the Bangko Sentra!ng Pilipinasother 
relevant government agencies in the investigation and enforcement of cybercrime warrants 
and related orders.
Sec. 11. Duties of Banks and Financiailnstitutions. - Banks, Non-Bank Financial 
Institutions, and other pertinent Bank and Non-Bank Institutions shall respond to all 
consumer complaints related to phishing, social engineering schemes, account takeover or 
other cybercrimes that are committed on their platform. They shall investigate each case, 
exert reasonable efforts to assist victims recover their direct monetary loss, if any, and 
provide evidence in support of any criminal investigations or legal actions that may be 
initiated by the victims or legal authorities.
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The said institutions shall likewise institute measures to strengthen their online platforms,
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Sec. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from
36 the effectivity of this Act, the Bangko Sentrai ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Justice
37 (DOJ), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), NBI and PNP
38 shall jointly promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of
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These agencies shall formulate an Anti-Scam/Financial Fraud Roadmap which shall
41 include detailed measures on, among others, education and information dissemination on
42 financial scams and its prevention; enhanced detection, reporting, and prosecution of
43 persons behind money mules, social engineering schemes, and other financial cybercrimes;
44 and the training of responsible officers and personnel to ensure effective enforcement and
45 prosecution of cases under this Act.


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Additionally, a cooperative mechanism shall be established among the concerned
2 government agencies, banks, financial institutions, private and corporate sectors, and other
3 concerned stakeholder groups to ensure the effective prosecution of cases and
4 enforcement of this Act.
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Sec. 13. Appropriation. - The amount necessary for the effective implementation
7 of this Act shall be incorporated in the General Appropriations Act.
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9 Sec. 14. Separability Clause, - If for any reason, any provision of this Act is
10 declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall
11 remain in full force and effect.
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Sec. 15. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
14 regulations or parts thereof which are contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of this
15 Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 16. Effectivity, - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
18 in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,