TLDR
- The Philippine Court of Appeals froze 25 crypto wallets, 86 bank accounts, and other assets in a flood-control corruption probe.
- The assets are linked to an unnamed prominent lawmaker, a corporation, and several individuals and entities.
- Authorities have not disclosed the value, type of crypto, or wallet addresses involved.
- Investigators say funds moved through banks, intermediaries, crypto platforms, and private wallets to make tracing harder.
- The freeze can initially last 20 days and may be extended through court proceedings.
The Philippine Court of Appeals has frozen 25 crypto wallets as part of an investigation into alleged corruption tied to the country’s flood-control projects. The order also covers 86 bank accounts and other financial assets.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said the assets are linked to an unnamed prominent lawmaker, a corporation, and several individuals and entities. The court found probable cause that the assets were connected to alleged plunder under Republic Act No. 7080.
In total, the order covers 116 accounts and assets. Besides the 25 wallets and 86 bank accounts, it includes four investment accounts and one insurance policy.
What the Freeze Order Covers
The order stops the assets from being withdrawn, transferred, or otherwise disposed of while the investigation continues. A freeze order is a temporary step meant to preserve assets that may be tied to unlawful activity.
It does not, on its own, prove that the account holders committed a crime. The AMLC has kept the names of the lawmaker and others private, citing legal limits on disclosure.
Authorities have not shared the value of the crypto in the 25 wallets. They also have not named the cryptocurrencies involved or released the wallet addresses.
The AMLC has not identified the virtual asset service provider linked to the case. Public information does not show that any specific crypto exchange was involved in wrongdoing.
How Funds Allegedly Moved
The AMLC said funds connected to the case moved through several channels. These included individual intermediaries, corporations, commercial bank accounts, money service businesses, virtual asset service providers, and multiple crypto wallets.
According to the council, using many recipients and channels made the money harder to trace. It also put more distance between the transactions and their alleged source.
Investigators said the people and entities under review did not appear to have enough operating revenue to support the size of the investments found. The AMLC did not disclose the total value of those investments.
Crypto had already come up in the wider probe. In December 2025, officials said people tied to the scandal allegedly converted large amounts of Philippine pesos into USDT and other digital assets through intermediaries.
Officials at the time described transactions of ₱50 million to ₱100 million as part of the patterns being examined. Those figures came from the earlier investigation and are not the value of the 25 frozen wallets.
The earlier probe also looked at the use of cold wallets, peer-to-peer trades, and crypto exchanges. Authorities said these methods could make it harder to follow funds across borders.
Under Philippine law, a Court of Appeals freeze order can initially last for 20 days. It can be extended through court proceedings, and authorities may seek further measures if the case moves to forfeiture.
Earlier AMLC actions have already led to court-approved freezes covering billions of pesos in assets tied to the broader flood-control investigation.
The AMLC said it will keep working with government agencies and financial service providers to trace and recover suspected assets. More details about the 25 wallets, including balances and transaction histories, could come out if courts or investigators release them.
