The Art of Pseudonyms

In order to get away with a life of crime, it helps to use a fake name.

The false identity which Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos chose for himself was the decidedly un-Filipino “William Saunders.” His wife, Imelda Marcos, selected “Jane Ryan”. These were the aliases which the Marcoses used in the signature cards when they opened their first ever bank account with Credit Suisse in Zurich. The year was 1968, four years before martial law irrevocably transformed the kleptocrat Marcos into an autocrat as well. In 1968, Marcos’ presidential salary was around US $5,600, yet his Swiss bank account had a balance of US $950,000.

The Marcos presidency lasted for a little over 20 years, until in 1986, when Ferdinand and Imelda fled a country which had over US $26 Billion in debt, and whose national coffers were nearly empty. Among the documents they left behind at Malacanang Palace were the Credit Suisse contracts signed in March 1968 with the names William Saunders and Jane Ryan.

The William Saunders-Jane Ryan accounts were closed by 1970, but the balances were transferred into multiple offshore foundations including Xandy Foundation, Avertina Foundation, and others. These structures expanded into a complex web of financial entities used to obscure ownership.

Financial Structures and Offshore Entities

Multiple foundations were created and renamed repeatedly — Azio, Charis, Spinus, Rosalys, Maler — each transferring assets across jurisdictions.

Instructions for Maler accounts were even signed under another false identity: “John Lewis.”

Another structure, Arelma S.A., was created in 1972 and held millions in brokerage assets in New York through Merrill Lynch. By 1983, it had grown to over US $3.3 million.

Legal Recovery and Forfeiture

In 2003, the Philippine Supreme Court ordered the forfeiture of Swiss deposits in favor of the Republic. In 2012, Arelma assets were also ruled as belonging to the Philippine government, totaling over US $661 million.

However, estimates of ill-gotten wealth remain between US $5 to 10 billion, far exceeding what has been recovered.

The Missing Art Collection

In 2014, courts ordered the seizure of artworks including works attributed to Michelangelo, Picasso, Goya, Gaugin, and Miró.

Many more works remain unaccounted for — including Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, Botticelli, Matisse, and Renoir.

Conclusion

This platform is established to present artworks believed to be connected to ill-gotten wealth, and to trace their provenance for public accountability and cultural restitution.

The Missing Art Movement continues its work of documenting, recovering, and contextualizing these cultural assets.