The Marcos Kleptocracy

Abstract

This chapter on Ferdinand Edralin Marcos is a practical case study of the money laundering-corruption nexus. It explains how Marcos was able to use his position as president of the Philippines to become reputedly one of the biggest thieves in history. Current estimates are that Marcos stole at least $10 billion which grew through illicit investments to a multiple of this figure. The Marcos case displays the wide variety of forms of corruption that may occur in countries controlled by authoritarian political leaders. Corruption under the Marcos regime ranged from theft of foreign and military aid to the domestic system of crony capitalism. The scale of the grand corruption of Ferdinand Marcos, his family, relatives, and cronies necessitated an extensive use of money laundering devices. The money laundering methods used by Marcos in hiding his corrupt proceeds were so sophisticated that government officials believe that less than 10 percent of his illicit assets have been recovered. Marcos’s financial advisers in the Philippines and overseas utilized numerous mechanisms of secrecy to conceal and launder his illicit wealth through financial institutions, investments, and multilayered corporate shareholdings. Favored money laundering jurisdictions for Marcos included Switzerland and Liechtenstein.