The Singapore High Court has ordered the return of $23 million worth of allegedly illicit assets seized from a Philippine dictator some two decades ago to a Philippine bank, local media reports show. 

In a 77-page ruling, Singapore High Court Justice Andrew Ang dismissed claims by a group of human rights victims and five foundations to the money, saying that Philippine National Bank has rightful ownership of the funds. The claiming groups were said to be merely fronts of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his family and their allies.

Philippine National Bank, which is now privately-owned, holds the legal title to the funds as trustee. The money, composed of $16.8 million and £4.2 million ($6.58 million), were part of the alleged ill-gotten wealth that Marcos kept in various Swiss bank accounts. It said that the total amount of illicit funds reach $10 billion.

Marco had ruled the country from 1965 until 1986, when he was ousted by the People Power Revolution. He died in exile in Hawaii in 1989.

The $23 million in question was deposited in the Singapore branch of WestLB, the German bank. In 1998, Swiss authorities released some of Marcos family's deposits to PNB to act as trustee. PNB then transferred the money to various Singaporean bank, including WestLB.

The Philippine Supreme Court had ruled in 2003 that the funds belonged to the groups of claimants. However, Judge Ang said that the ruling could not be enforced in the city-state, where the money is located.