# Philippine corruption probe freezes 25 crypto wallets Author: KriptoMeta Editorial Team Language: English Published: 2026-10-02T11:35:39+03:00 Updated: 2026-10-02T11:35:39+03:00 ![A closed steel vault door with a Philippine map motif and engaged locking bolts](https://kriptometa.com/uploads/filipinler-de-yolsuzluk-dosyasi-kripto-cuzdani-donduruldu-c8154146f1ff_article.webp) ## Key takeaways - AMLC’s October 1 statement covers 25 crypto wallets and 86 bank accounts. - The September 21 court order concerns alleged irregularities in flood-control projects. - The lawmaker’s name, the value of the frozen assets and the cryptocurrencies involved were not disclosed. The trail of funds allegedly linked to public-project irregularities ran from bank accounts to crypto services. AMLC’s new statement does not disclose the value of the assets or the tokens involved. A Philippine investigation into alleged irregularities in flood-control projects has led to a freeze order covering 25 crypto wallets and 86 bank accounts. In a [statement published on October 1](https://amlc.gov.ph/news-and-announcements/93-amlc-secures-freeze-order-on-assets-linked-to-alleged-corruption-plunder-flood-control-project-anomalies?type=news), the Anti-Money Laundering Council, or AMLC, said the assets were linked to an unnamed prominent lawmaker, a corporation and associated individuals and entities. The disclosure is new; the court order is dated September 21. According to AMLC, the Court of Appeals found probable cause that the assets were related to plunder under Republic Act No. 7080. The investigation concerns alleged flood-control project anomalies and a broader government-budget kickback scheme. ## The order reaches beyond crypto wallets Alongside the 86 bank accounts and 25 virtual asset wallets, the order covers four investment accounts and one insurance policy. That adds up to 116 accounts and assets, rather than 116 people under investigation. AMLC says its financial investigation found no apparent operating revenues to support the scale of the investments involved. Funds associated with those investments moved through layers of individual intermediaries, corporations, bank accounts, a money service business and a virtual asset platform, according to the council. **A freeze order is not a conviction announcement.** The statement describes the alleged link to suspect funds and the restraint placed on the assets. It does not announce a final conviction or a ruling permanently transferring the assets to the state. ## The money trail runs from banks to crypto services > “The use of multiple recipients and financial channels complicated the tracing of the funds” Excerpt from AMLC’s October 1 written statement The route described by the council involves more than an isolated wallet. Using traditional financial accounts and virtual asset service providers in the same flow of money adds stages between the alleged source and subsequent transactions. AMLC says it traced the transactions back to funds allegedly associated with corruption and plunder cases involving the lawmaker. The task therefore extends beyond identifying [a wallet address](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/wallet-address). In [anti-money laundering](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/kyc-aml) work, examining the links between transactions and the source of funds brings crypto-service records and bank records into the same investigation. Bilyonaryo News Channel’s October 1 post also sets out the accounts and wallets covered by the order: [Bilyonaryo News Channel’s post on the AMLC freeze order](https://x.com/bncdotph/status/2105651204865106076) ## Wallet holdings and the freeze mechanism remain undisclosed AMLC’s document does not name the lawmaker, state the total value of the frozen assets or identify the cryptocurrencies and blockchains involved. It also does not identify the wallets’ service providers or explain how the order was technically implemented. The disclosure therefore does not establish the [wallets’ custody arrangements](https://kriptometa.com/en/glossary/custodial-non-custodial-wallet) or show that private keys were seized. The council says it will continue working with partner agencies and financial service providers to identify, trace, restrain and recover suspected illicit assets. The next developments in [this regulation story](https://kriptometa.com/en/news/regulation) will be any further disclosure of the people and assets involved, and the court proceedings that follow the freeze.