Flashcards Studio

Facts: A cosmetics importer named Lila receives PHP 6,000,000 in cash from a person known to be a drug trafficker. Lila deposits the money in four separate bank accounts she controls over a ten-day period and, through her company, wires PHP 3,900,000 to a supplier in Singapore, claiming it is payment for imported cosmetics. She knows the funds originated from illicit drug activity. A bank clerk who processes the deposits is aware of the source but does not report it.
(a) Identify the predicate crime or unlawful activity that supplies the proceeds and name the statutory provision that constitutes the predicate offense.
(b) Apply the elements of the money laundering offense under the AMLA to Lila’s acts. Specifically, discuss: (i) whether the funds constitute proceeds of an unlawful activity; (ii) whether the deposits and the wire transfer are "monetary transactions" within the meaning of the law; (iii) the mental element (knowledge) of the offender and whether Lila’s knowledge is proven; (iv) whether the layering and integration pattern supports a finding of money laundering.
(c) If Lila argues she did not know the funds came from illicit activity, state the controlling rule on the requisite mens rea for money laundering under the AMLA and how knowledge may be established beyond direct evidence.