THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has given the go-ahead to prosecute Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada for allegedly embezzling more than $3 million in funds of the posh Okada Manila.
In a resolution issued on December 7, Assistant State Prosecutor Alejandro Daguiso reversed an earlier resolution issued by the Parañaque Prosecutor’s Office that dismissed the estafa complaint on the ground it constituted intracorporate dispute.
The justice department found probable cause to indict Okada for three counts of estafa under article 315 of the Revised Penal Code.
His corespondent Takahiro Usui, former Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) president and COO, was also indicted for conspiracy in relation to the three counts of estafa.
The DOJ earlier took over the case after TRLEI, owner and operator of Okada Manila, sought the reinvestigation of the reversal of the city prosecutor’s ruling on the two estafa cases filed against Okada’s camp.
The cases were both dismissed by the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office on May 11, 2018, but the TRLEI filed a complaint before the DOJ alleging leakage of the resolution to Okada’s camp before they were officially released.
TRLEI claimed the pertinent portions of the resolutions issued by Parañaque City Prosecutor Amerhassan C. Paudac had been leaked and found their way to the social-media accounts of Okada’s Korean girlfriend, Chloe Kim, on May 18.
TRLEI said it was only on May 30 or almost two weeks after Kim had posted the dispositive portions of the resolutions on social media that it received copies of the resolutions signed by Paudac.
In the first estafa case, TRLEI accused Okada of illegal disbursement of company funds amounting to $3.1 million supposedly for his consultancy fees and salaries during his one-month tenure as CEO.
The TRLEI said the disbursement was not authorized by the TRLEI board.
Also named as respondent in the said case was TTRLEI former President and COO Takahiro Usui.
The second estafa case involves the supply of light emitting diode (LED) fixtures to Okada Manila by Okada’s personal company, Aruze Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (APMI).
TRLEI alleged the $7-million supply contract was given to APMI upon the behest of Okada, in conspiracy with his close associate, Kengo Takeda, who was the former chief technology officer of TRLEI.
In the two motions, TRLEI insisted the dismissal of the complaints and the leakage of the resolutions to Okada’s camp violates its constitutional right to due process.
In his resolution, Daguiso found Okada’s arguments unconvincing and that his “defenses are now appropriately matters of evidence to be proven in a full-blown trial.”
In his counteraffidavit, Okada denied the amounts were misappropriated nor converted, but were in fact payments due him, and upon his receipt, they became subject to his ownership.
Aside from echoing Okada’s arguments, Usui countered that their alleged conspiracy was not proven due to the failure of the complaint to produce documents showing he allowed the release of the amounts to Okada.
But the DOJ held that “The fact that respondent Okada’s compensation under both agreements was determined in violation of complainant’s bylaws is enough reason for us to believe that the amounts were not released properly.”
“Such actions on the part of both respondents, in violation of complainant’s bylaws, is enough probable cause to conclude that the release of the amounts were irregular and done to the prejudice of the complainant,” it added.