Sandigan stops seizure of Kokoy’s P410 million Swiss depositsMANILA, Philippines — Foreign currency deposits in foreign banks are covered by bank secrecy laws and cannot be attached or seized by the government as part of a probe on ill-gotten wealth, the Sandiganbayan has ruled, in a case involving Swiss deposits held in escrow of a brother of former first lady Imelda Marcos. The PCGG is seeking to forfeit in favor of the government a total of $5,193,726.37 in alleged illegally amassed wealth supposedly concealed in Swiss bank deposits by the Romualdez couple – parents of former House speaker Martin Romualdez. The court said the subject bank account is covered by the “secrecy of foreign currency deposits” provision under Section 8 of Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act. “Section 8 of the FCDA expressly provides that all foreign currency deposits authorized under the FCDA shall be exempt from attachment,” the court said. The PCGG earlier said that Romualdez had a net worth of only P2.348 million in 1983 based on his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Source: Philippine Star January 15, 2026 16:35 UTC