{"id":95659,"date":"2019-01-07T10:03:47","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T18:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=95659"},"modified":"2019-01-07T10:37:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T18:37:52","slug":"kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Kazuo Okada Indicted in Philippines for Fraud, Maintains Innocence"},"content":{"rendered":"

A court in the Philippines has ordered the arrest of Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada, 77, on three counts of fraud.<\/p>\n

\"Kazuo
Kazuo Okada called the fraud allegations against him \u201cabsurd\u201d and demanded to know how he could defraud companies that he owns. But his control of those companies is currently a matter of legal dispute. (Image: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The charges relate to the alleged misappropriation of more than $3 million from Tiger Resorts — the operator of the Okada Manila<\/a>, in the Philippines\u2019 Entertainment City and come a month after the country\u2019s Department of Justice recommended his indictment.<\/a><\/p>\n

In an arrest warrant issued Friday and made public on Sunday, Judge Rolando How of the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 257 ordered law enforcement to present Okada to court.<\/p>\n

Okada: \u2018I Own Tiger Resorts\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Okada, who is a resident of Hong Kong, railed against the indictment to Inside Asian Gaming<\/em> on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I defraud the company that I own?\u201d he demanded. \u201cTRLEI is 100 percent controlled by Universal Entertainment Corporation, 67.9 percent\u2026 of which is controlled by Okada Holdings Limited (OHL). OHL is a corporation which I essentially own as I technically have control over all of OHL\u2019s shares. OHL holds 100 percent of the shares of Tiger Resort Asia Limited (TRAL), which in turn, owns 99.99 percent of TRLEI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs owner of Okada Manila, it is absolutely absurd for me to \u2018unlawfully take\u2019 these salaries and fees,\u201d he continued. \u201cI was responsible for the investment of more than US$2 billion in Okada Manila. How would I commit estafa (fraud) against TRLEI and Okada Manila for a measly amount of salaries when I was the one who established and caused the rise and success of Okada Manila?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dynastic Dispute<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Okada, 76, was ousted from the board of Tiger Gaming\u2019s parent, Universal Entertainment, in June 2017, from which he is accused of misappropriating a further $17 million in company funds.<\/p>\n

Whether he does own 69 percent of Universal parent Okada Holdings is a matter of legal dispute. Okada Holdings is a family owned business whose board also ousted him in 2017 when family members turned against him.<\/p>\n

Okada is suing his son and wife in an attempt to wrestle back control of the company.<\/p>\n

\n

The billionaire has also filed a motion for reconsideration with the DOJ, dismissing the accusations against him as baseless. He says he is the victim of a boardroom coup and that the disputed funds were legal director\u2019s loans which he used to reinvest in junket operations for the Okada Manila.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Violence, Intimidation <\/strong><\/h2>\n

But Universal — which Okada founded 50 years ago — claims that a third-party investigation into the matter has confirmed the allegations of fraud and the company has said it has \u201csincerely and solemnly\u201d accepts this verdict.<\/p>\n

The investigation also alleged Okada had \u201cviolently intimidated and threatened\u201d a Universal executive, Yoshinao Negishi, with whom he is alleged to have conspired.<\/p>\n

Okada made his fortune from the manufacture of pachinko machines in Japan and casino equipment for the international market. He was a founder and principal shareholder of Wynn Resorts before being ousted in 2012, allegedly — according to Steve Wynn — for bribing a Philippine official in a bid to receive licensing for the project that became the Okada Manila.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A court in the Philippines has ordered the arrest of Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada, 77, on three counts of fraud. The charges relate to the alleged misappropriation of more than $3 million from Tiger Resorts — the operator of the Okada Manila, in the Philippines\u2019 Entertainment City and come a month after the country\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":95666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,10,60,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKazuo Okada Indicted in the Philippines for Fraud, Protests Innocence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philippine court orders arrest of Japanese gambling mogul Kazuo Okada on three counts of fraud. 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Okada says he cannot defraud a company he owns.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T18:03:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T18:37:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/okada.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"858\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/\",\"name\":\"Kazuo Okada Indicted in the Philippines for Fraud, Protests Innocence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kazuo-okada-indicted-in-the-philippines-for-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/okada.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-07T18:03:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-07T18:37:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Philippine court orders arrest of Japanese gambling mogul Kazuo Okada on three counts of fraud. 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