A Facebook (FB) post falsely claimed that some of the 400,000 bars of gold currently safeguarded by the Bank of England are owned by former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., as allegedly stated in his last will and testament.
Not true. Marcos Sr.’s 1988 last will and testament did not mention the Bank of England or any gold supposedly deposited there. It only named his immediate family as recipients of his properties, with wife Imelda and son Ferdinand Jr. named as guardians, trustees and executors.
(READ: Marcos Sr. NEVER promised to give away his wealth)
The false FB post, dated Sept. 30, cited a post by the FB page of British web publisher UNILAD Tech about gold being stored underneath the bank. The publisher of the false post wrote in its caption:
“Ayon sa Treasury Certificate of The Wealth for Humanity at Last Will and Testament Legal Document na inihanda ni President Ferdinand E. Marcos para sa Pilipinas at buong mundo …. kasali ang Bank of England sa pinaglalagakan ng Huge Gold Assets na kung saan ang mga gintong naka time deposit dito ay kumikita ng infinite dollars 4% per annum simula pa noong January 1, 1966.”
(According to the treasury certificate of the wealth for humanity and last will and testament legal document prepared by President Ferdinand E. Marcos for the Philippines and the whole world …. The Bank of England is among those storing huge gold assets where the gold in a time deposit here has been earning infinite dollars, 4% per annum, since January 1, 1966.)
Neither UNILAD Tech’s post (or its corresponding website article) nor the Bank of England said that Marcos was among the owners of the gold bars.
“The gold is kept in nine underground vaults and we guard it very carefully. Our customers are the U.K. Government, banks and other governments around the world,” the Bank of England said in a 2020 video explainer.
The bank also provides gold accounts to certain commercial firms that facilitate access for central banks to the London gold market.
A link carried by the false FB post directs viewers to a YouTube video which claims that the “Marcos wealth” stored in 170 banks in the world will be gathered and distributed to the Filipino people. VERA Files Fact Check has previously debunked this.
FB page Filipino Future garnered 227 reactions, 65 comments, and 69 shares for its erroneous post that appeared five days after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sold the most gold in the world during the first half of 2024.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)