A secretary who worked for Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, has been charged in New York with conspiracy to sell valuable art including a £20 million Monet that vanished during the collapse of the Marcos regime.
Vilma Bautista, 74, charged with two of her nephews, Chaiyot Jansen Navalanska, 37, and Pongsak Navalaksana, 40, is also accused of tax fraud.
Prosecutors claim that during the presidency of her late husband, Ferdinand, Mrs Marcos used state funding to acquire a vast collection of artworks and other valuables, and that some pieces ended up in Ms Bautista’s possession after the Marcos regime was overthrown in a citizens’ revolt in 1986.
Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan district attorney, alleged Ms Bautista used false paperwork to sell one of Claude Monet’s water lily paintings to a London gallery for £20 million in September 2010.
Ms Bautista, who has homes in New York City and Long Island, is also accused of secretly keeping another Monet, L’Église et La Seine à Vétheuil, Alfred Sisley’s Langland Bay, and Albert Marquet’s Le Cyprès de Djenan Sidi Said, also known as Algerian View.
Imelda Marcos, 83, is not expected to face charges in the case, prosecutors said. Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989. However, Fran Hoffinger, a lawyer for Ms Bautista, said the secretary became caught up in a dispute between the Marcoses and the Philippines government.
“It’s a civil dispute,” said Ms Hoffinger. “It doesn’t belong in a criminal court.”
Prosecutors allege Ms Bautista and her nephews plotted to sell the paintings and keep the proceeds tax-free. Ms Bautista pleaded not guilty in court in Manhattan and was freed on £110,000 bail. Her nephews, last known to live in Bangkok, did not appear in court.
