SINGAPORE — Singapore's High Court has ruled that more than $23 million seized from
the estate of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos rightfully belongs
Philippine National Bank (PNB).
In a 77-page ruling obtained
Thursday by AFP, Justice Andrew Ang dismissed the rival claims of the
Philippine government, a group of human rights victims and five foundations
believed to be Marcos fronts.
He ruled that the money –
deposited in the Singapore branch of German bank WestLB – belongs to the now
privately-owned PNB.
"I am of the view that PNB
holds legal title to the funds as trustee of the same," Ang said in his
judgement issued Wednesday.
The funds, comprising $16.8
million and £4.2 million ($6.58 million), were part of the alleged illicit
fortune that Marcos stashed away in various Swiss bank accounts.
Marcos ruled the Philippines from
1965 to 1986, when he was overthrown by a popular revolt. He died in exile in
Hawaii in 1989.
He first governed as a
democratically elected president but declared martial law in 1972, using
military force to crush dissent.
Marcos and a circle of relatives
and cronies allegedly amassed a fortune of up to $10 billion through graft and
rigged business deals, much of it stashed overseas.
In 1998, Swiss authorities
released deposits in Swiss banks to PNB, which in turn transferred the money to
various banks in Singapore including WestLB, according to the ruling.
WestLB went to court in 2004 to
determine the owner of the money after several groups staked claims.
Among the claimants was the
Philippine government, which based its arguments on a 2003 ruling by the
country's Supreme Court that the funds be forefeited in its favor.
But the Singapore judge ruled
that the Philippine Supreme Court ruling could not be enforced in the
city-state.
While he dismissed the claims of
the human rights victims, the judge said he sympathized with their plight but
the court "must act in a principled manner when dealing with such
questions of law."
Despite numerous cases being
filed in the Philippines, no member of the surviving Marcos family has been
successfully prosecuted and they continue to live in luxury.
AFP
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