Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada has vowed to “exhaust all legal remedies” in his defense against three counts of estafa after the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court (RTC) affirmed the issuance of an arrest warrant against him.
The court order, issued on 6 May but made public late last week, denied a previous request to quash warrants against Okada and former Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI) President and COO Takahiro Usui.
The original indictment filed by the Philippines Department of Justice in January accuses the duo of misappropriating company funds by receiving almost US$3.2 million in wages and fees from TRLEI without board approval. TRLEI is the operating entity of Entertainment City integrated resort Okada Manila.
In a written statement sent to media on Saturday, Okada’s representatives said he and Usui “will vigorously defend themselves against these baseless accusations and shall continue to avail themselves of legal remedies by first filing a Motion for Reconsideration, and if it is denied, a Petition for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals of the Philippines.”
Okada is arguing that he couldn’t have committed estafa because he was in full control of TRLEI at the time and had the power to authorize the payment of compensation to directors.
“It is therefore absurd for him to defraud, or conspire to defraud, his own company for a measly US$3 million,” the statement said.
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