Marcos family mum on Swiss bank withdrawal

The Marcos family has remained silent over reports that Irene Marcos-Araneta supposedly tried to withdraw some $13.2 billion in alleged ill-gotten wealth from the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS).

Official Marcos family spokeswoman Cherry Cobarrubias said the Marcos family is refraining from making any comment on the issue until after all allegations are presented to the public.

"Mrs. (Imelda) Marcos wants to see first the entire story presented by Reiner Jacobi, the Australian fortune hunter, before they would issue comment on this matter," Cobarrubias said.

Irene is the youngest daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who allegedly amassed billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth and stashed them in difference banks all over the world.

Jacobi had claimed in 1998 that he discovered an account owned by Irene in UBS bank in Lugano, Switzerland, under client number 885931.

The Estrada administration, however, dismissed Jacobi’s claim as a hoax after it hired an international audit firm to investigate the treasure hunter’s allegations.

Jacobi subsequently leaked documents claiming that Irene tried to close a numbered UBS account, allegedly containing some $13.2 billion, and transfer the funds to Duetsche Bank in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), on the other hand, expressed doubt on the veracity of the report after it commissioned last year international audit firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to conduct a study of the UBS account.

Party-list Rep. Loretta Anne "Etta" Rosales agreed with the PCGG assessment and said she was not totally convinced that the account actually belonged to any member of the Marcos family.

But Rosales, who is among the thousands of human rights victims who hope to get settlement payments from the alleged Marcos hoard, urged the government to reinvestigate the matter nonetheless.

"If it is true that the Araneta Swiss accounts are true, then the government must immediately pursue perjury charges against Irene for lying before the Senate," Rosales said.

In a hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, then headed by Senator now Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Irene denied owning such Swiss accounts.

"If it is proven to be non-existent, the government should seal the issue to finish all these noises once and for all," Rosales said.

Rosales said she was more inclined to believe the findings of the Price Waterhouse Coopers which determined last year that UBS account number 885931 and its sub-accounts did not exceed the amount of 20 million Swiss francs from Jan. 1, 1986 until its closure in Jan. 19, 1999.

The same audit report, dated Oct. 30, 2000, also indicated that none of the persons closely identified or associated with the Marcoses have been registered as account holders and that there is no evidence that the assets were being held for their benefit.

"The firm has determined that while the (Sandy Anstalt) account did exist, it did not have any connection with Ferdinand Marcos or persons connected to him," the report said.

The PWC report also claimed that the transactions Jacobi claimed to have taken place were not carried out under any account of client no. 885931.

Meanwhile, at least two militant organizations have urged President Arroyo to order an investigation into the alleged involvement of a law firm identified with reelectionist Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile in the supposed money laundering.

Bayan Muna spokesperson Raymon Palatino and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Elmer Labog stressed that the Pecabar law firm should immediately explain its involvement in Irene’s alleged attempt to close the UBS accounts. – With Sandy Araneta