Philippine investigators are recommending criminal charges against Kazuo Okada and others for possible violations of a law prohibiting the use of front companies to own land.
A Bloomberg report, citing a Justice Department statement issued yesterday, said a fact-finding panel found evidence that the Japanese billionaire, who is licensed to develop a resort casino in Manila, has used companies that aren’t qualified to be involved in such a project.
The panel also named eight other Japanese nationals and 17 Filipinos as liable to be charged, some of them attorneys.
The panel also investigated allegations that some US$40 million in bribes were paid to a politically connected Filipino to secure government approvals for the project but concluded there was not sufficient evidence to justify charges.
Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said the panel’s work is continuing.
“We built the current land-owning scheme based on advice from the Philippines’ prominent lawyers, so our understanding is that it’s legal,” said Nobuyuki Horiuchi, a spokesman for Universal Entertainment, Mr Okada’s Tokyo-based flagship.
Universal has been in talks with prospective partners to assist with funding portions of the Manila casino and to help resolve the land ownership issues.
A Philippine subsidiary of the company is one of four licensees authorized to develop mixed-use gaming resorts with hotels and other attractions on a government-sponsored reclamation district in the capital known as Entertainment City.
Another Universal subsidiary called Eagle I is the registered owner of the company’s Entertainment City site. An opinion from the Justice Department last year said that since Eagle I is 64% controlled by Aruze USA, a company controlled by Mr Okada, it is in violation of the country’s 40% cap on foreign ownership.
RelatedPosts
