Singapore’s Court of Appeals Awards $23M in Marcos Money to PNB

The Appeals Court in Singapore ruled to grant more than $23 million to the Philippine National Bank (PNB). The amount granted by Singapore’s Court of Appeals was from a seized estate of former president Ferdinand Marcos, putting the dispute over the former president’s ill-gotten fortunes.

Reports said the funds, comprising $16.8 million and GBP4.2 million, form part of Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth hidden in Swiss bank accounts.

The court’s decision effectively ruled out the claims of the Philippine government, at least five of Marcos’ foundations set up to hold the money in Swiss banks, as well as 9,539 human rights victims under the Marcos regime, Gma News Online reported.

Report added the court said it affirmed its Supreme Court’s decision that the PNB has the legal title to the funds as depositor of the money and as original account holder with WestLB, the Germany-based bank that held the money. However, the appeals court struck down the victims’ claims because their documents did not have the legal effect of transferring any “proprietary interest” in the funds to them.

But the court said the decision “does not in any way deny the moral claims of the human rights victims and acknowledge that the human rights victims deserve redress for the grievous wrongs that they have suffered,” Gma News Online reported.

The court held that the Swiss foundations lost its right after the Swiss court ordered the money transferred to PNB. The PNB holds the funds in escrow and placed the money in various banks in Singapore and Britain. WestLB in Singapore sought the court’s decision after four parties claimed to be rightful owners of the Swiss funds.

Reports said the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in 1997 granted the return of the $680 million from Marcos’ Swiss bank deposits to the Philippines but ordered the compliance of the two conditions — a final and executory decision of a credible Philippine court declaring the said funds as ill-gotten, and that a rightful share of the funds will given to Martial Law victims who won a class suit in Honolulu court against the Marcos estate.

In 2003, the first condition was complied when the Philippine Supreme Court declared the Marcos Swiss funds as ill-gotten and the second condition was attained when President Benigno Aquino III signed the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

The law mandates the creation of the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission where P10 billion in funds from the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses will be used to pay the victims.

Source: Gma News Online

Image Credit: intermediarybank.com