Websites falsely connect Marcos Sr to nonexistent banks

"The Marcos family, who appears out of it in most occasions, has been exposed! Involved in a $100B money laundering?" reads a Tagalog-language Facebook post published May 2, 2025. 

It was shared by the page Boldyakan, which used to support Marcos Jr but later became one of the president's fiercest critics.

Image

Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken May 22, 2025

The post links to an April 29 report of alleged documents revealing bank accounts belonging to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr -- the current president's father.

According to the report, the Marcoses used "large-scale gold transactions in Hong Kong as a cover to be suspected (sic) of conducting large-scale money laundering activities" amounting to more than US$10 billion.

It goes on to claim a whistleblower submitted the supposed documents to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on April 14.

Image

Screenshot of the report shared by the false posts taken May 23, 2025

The allegations circulated ahead of the Philippine mid-term polls on May 12, which were seen as a referendum on the current administration (archived link). 

Only six out of 11 Marcos-endorsed candidates secured a Senate seat, joining 12 others already in office as jurors at embattled Vice President Duterte's impeachment trial, which could see the Marcos rival permanently barred from public office (archived link).

The narrative -- previously debunked by the collaborative Philippine fact-checking project Tsek.ph -- also spread on TikTok, Weibo and Douyin, as well as in publications such as the Hong Kong-based Bastille Post, Taiwanese Meihua Media and Phoenix Television (archived link). 

Marcos matriarch Imelda claimed in 2013 that the family held around 6,000 to 7,000 tons of gold, although Marcos Jr denied its existence in 2022 (archived links here and here). 

The Philippine Supreme Court previously ordered the Marcoses to hand back over US$658 million found in their Swiss bank accounts -- a fraction of the $10 billion estimated to have been plundered from state coffers during the regime (archived link). 

While AFP cannot independently verify the Marcos family's alleged possession of secret gold accounts, the online documents list banks that do not exist.

Nonexistent banks

One purported contract shared in the articles shows payments sent to the "International and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited" in Hong Kong. 

The supposed bank is identified by the unique SWIFT code "UBHKHKHH".  

But that code belongs to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong (archived link). 

Image

Screenshot comparison of the purported contract (L) and a page from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia)'s official website

The bank in question also does not appear in the HKMA's database (archived link). 

Another image shared in the articles purports to show six of the 18 accounts linked to the elder Marcos.

Image

Screenshot of the circulating document, with elements highlighted by AFP

However, multiple keyword searches indicate the associated banks do not exist:

• There is no record of an "Ireland and Swiss and Cork Bank" in the Central Bank of Ireland’s database of licensed financial institutions (archived link). 
• An address listed for "International Hungary Bank" does not appear to exist -- a Google Maps search of "1550 Rimpau Avenue" leads to the US state of California, not Hungary (archived link). AFP also did not find the bank in the European country's registry of financial service providers (archived link). 
• Two Japanese banks, allegedly named "Japan and Swiss Banking Corporation" and "Narita Saving and Trust," appear to be fabricated as well. They are not in the East Asian country's bank registry (archived link). 
• There is no "Philippine Bank of Munich" listed in Philippine or German central bank records (archived links here and here). The bank is purportedly based in "Munich, Switzerland" -- but Munich is in Germany (archived link). 
• Although Po Sang Bank was once a legitimate financial institution in Hong Kong, it was renamed Bank of China following a 2001 merger (archived links here and here). The document shared in the false posts is dated 2006.

When asked about the online claims, an HKMA spokesperson said the agency "does not comment on individual cases," noting that "banks are required to report suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies."

"The investigation of crimes ... is carried out by law enforcement agencies in accordance with relevant laws and regulations in Hong Kong."

AFP has previously debunked numerous myths about the Marcoses.