{
  "id": 6419356,
  "title": "Philippine high court dismisses Imelda Marcos graft case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/philippine-high-court-dismisses-imelda-marcos-graft-case",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T11:49:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/09/09/philippine-high-court-dismisses-imelda-marcos-graft-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Philippine Supreme Court recently dismissed a corruption case against former First Lady Imelda Marcos, documents show. Marcos, now 97, fled the country in 1986 with her husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of stealing $10 billion from the nation after his 20-year rule ended due to a popular uprising. Ferdinand Marcos passed away in 1989 while living abroad, yet his heirs returned to the country, enabling Imelda to have her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., serving as President since 2022.\n\nIn 2018, the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court had ordered Imelda to serve at least six years in prison for charges that the Marcoses had funneled approximately $200 million through Swiss foundations decades ago. The former First Lady promptly launched an appeal. Court documents revealed that the Supreme Court dismissed the case over two months ago. The ruling, dated June 10, stated that Swiss documents were not properly authenticated, and no credible witnesses could confirm their validity and execution.\n\nThis is not the first time Imelda Marcos has faced an overturned Supreme Court decision. In 1993, the court overturned a 24-year jail sentence on corruption charges, allowing her to run for Congress and win while the appeal was ongoing. The family's notoriety is linked to Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of martial law in 1972, which enabled him to suspend the legislature, suppress the free press, and imprison or kill opponents of his dictatorship. Since Marcos' overthrow, efforts to recover the pilfered funds have been slow and inconsistent.",
  "summary": "The former first lady was accused of pilfering US$10 billion from the Philippines after a people's uprising ended her husband Ferdinand Marcos' 20-year rule.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Philippine high court dismisses Imelda Marcos graft case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/philippine-high-court-dismisses-imelda-marcos-graft-case-6420370",
        "published": "2026-09-09T11:49:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}