Philippines prosecutors in Parañaque City and Makati have dropped fraud and perjury complaints brought against Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada by Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI) – but not before his former company accused the Parañaque prosecutor of bias and gross partiality.
In a dramatic series of events, Okada was last week cleared of any wrongdoing by Makati prosecutors, who cited a lack of evidence in relation to complaints previously filed by TRLEI that its former CEO had made false allegations against the company. Parañaque prosecutors also dismissed a complaint of fraud relating to the alleged award of a major supply contract at Okada Manila by Okada to one of his own companies, Aruze Philippines Manufacturing Inc.
However, the issue has been further clouded with TRLEI having filed an 11-page motion last Wednesday – prior to the official release of the resolution dismissing the fraud complaints on Thursday – calling for Parañaque City Prosecutor Amerhassan Paudac to recuse himself from the case.
The motion came in response to a social media post three days earlier by a friend of Okada’s, Chloe Kim, which included a photo of the part of the resolution dismissing the complaints. TRLEI had subsequently approached the Office of the Prosecutor asking for a copy of the resolution, only to be told it was unavailable.
“Resolutions purportedly disposing the captioned cases in favor of respondent Okada have apparently been leaked … as shown by the unlawful publication thereof in the Facebook and Instagram accounts of [Okada’s] close companion, Chloe Kim, although said resolutions have not been officially released,” the motion stated.
“Indeed, it is highly irregular how Chloe Kim, who is not even a party to the captioned cases could have access to the Resolutions as early as 18 May 2018 when complainant TRLEI’s counsel was denied access thereto as late as 21 May 2018.”
TRLEI, which operates Okada Manila, is a subsidiary of Universal Entertainment Corp – the Japanese gaming giant that dumped Okada from its board last year amid multiple allegations of fraudulent activity.
RelatedPosts
