U.S. Case Against Marcos’ Widow Not Affected

The death of former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos will have no effect on the federal racketeering case against his widow, Imelda, a Justice Department spokeswoman said Thursday.

Last year, a federal grand jury in New York indicted the Marcoses and high-rolling Saudi Arabian financier Adnan Khashoggi on charges that they plundered the Philippine Treasury to buy high-priced New York real estate and stylish art objects.

According to the indictments, the three diverted at least $103 million from the Philippine Treasury to buy the property and cheated U.S. financial institutions out of at least $165 million to finance the purchases. However, the Philippine government charges the Marcoses stole billions of dollars from the country during their 20 years in power and stored much of it in secret Swiss bank accounts.

Debby Corley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, where the case was filed, said government lawyers will file a motion in court today to drop the case against Marcos in light of his death. Despite that move, considered a formality, Corley said prosecutors plan to press ahead with the case against Imelda Marcos and Khashoggi.

Trial to Begin March 14

“As to the remaining defendants, there is no change at all,” she said. Trial is set to begin March 14.

Marcos denied the charges in public but was never formally arraigned in court because he was considered too ill to travel to New York from Honolulu, where he and his wife fled after a popular Filipino uprising against their authoritarian rule in 1986.

Earlier this year, prosecutors agreed to sever his case from that of the other two defendants, but charges against Marcos never were dropped.

Imelda Marcos was arraigned, however, and pleaded innocent to the allegations. She is free on a $5-million bond posted by a friend, tobacco heiress Doris Duke. Khashoggi is also free on bond.

Because of her legal problems, Imelda Marcos is severely limited in her ability to dispose of the remains of her husband. She has said she wants to return Marcos to his native land for burial, but Philippine President Corazon Aquino has refused to allow that. The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday barred airlines from flying the body out of the country.

In addition, the Immigration and Naturalization Service earlier this year imposed a “departure control” order on Imelda Marcos, restricting her to the island of Oahu.

“As far as the INS is concerned, any departure of hers from Oahu would have to be cleared by us,” spokesman Duke Austin said.

She would also face legal obstacles if she tried to delay burial to pressure Aquino into relenting on the burial ban in the Philippines.

Secter reported from Chicago. Times staff writers Larry Green, in Chicago, and George Ramos, in Los Angeles, contributed to this story.