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Philippines Court orders arrest of Kazuo Okada, Tonyboy Cojuangco, Dindo Espeleta and associates for qualified theft

Andrew W Scott by Andrew W Scott
Wed 12 Jul 2023 at 11:42
Kazuo Okada pleads not guilty to grave coercion charges linked to Okada Manila takeover

Kazuo Okada

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The Paranaque Regional Trial Court has ordered the arrest of Kazuo Okada and his associates for siphoning money from Okada Manila during their forceful takeover of the integrated casino resort last year, according to a statement sent to IAG by Okada Manila.

Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Hon. Regina Paz A. Ramos-Chavez ordered the issuance of the warrants of arrest against Kazuo Okada, Antonio O. Cojuangco, Dindo Espeleta, and 10 others for “qualified theft”, Okada Manila said.

Under the provision of Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, “Qualified Theft” is a crime of theft with grave abuse of confidence and is subject to higher penalties than other forms of theft.

Okada Manila issued a statement to IAG just minutes ago, saying the theft involved, “… siphoning money amounting to a total of about Php500 million from the casino cage of Okada Manila in 2022.”

The statement claims that Judge Ramos-Chavez denied motions to suspend or defer the criminal proceedings against all of the accused, explaining that an appeal before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary does not hold in abeyance the proceeding before the trial court pursuant to National Prosecution Service Rule on Appeal.

However, according to Okada Manila, the Paranaque court denied the motions and decided to proceed with the case, explaining that “there is probable cause for the issuance of warrant of arrest against all the accused … The counter-allegations of the accused, being evidentiary in nature, are best threshed-out in a full-blown trial.”

Representatives of Mr Okada stormed Okada Manila and forcibly took control of the property on 31 May 2022 in response to a Status Que Ante Order (SQAO) issued by the Supreme Court of the Philippines ordering the board of Okada Manila operator Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI) be temporarily restored to its status prior to Mr Okada’s ousting in 2017.

The Okada group occupied Okada Manila for three months before the Department of Justice ruled that the SQAO did not give him the right to seize control, leading to the board backed by TRLEI parent Tiger Resort Asia Ltd (TRAL) reclaiming the property in early September.

Charges later filed by members of the TRAL-backed board alleged that members of the Kazuo Okada group, namely Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco, Dindo Espeleta and lawyer Florentino “Binky” Herrera, illegally installed themselves as members of the board of Okada Manila despite not having the approval of the Supreme Court to do so.

In July last year, the TRAL-backed board accused Kazuo Okada’s representatives of dispersing money directly from the casino cage at Okada Manila in response to its bank accounts being frozen.

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Tags: Kazuo OkadaManilaOkada ManilaParañaqueParañaque City Regional Trial CourtPhilippinestheft
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Andrew W Scott

Andrew W Scott

Born in Australia, Andrew is a gaming industry expert and media publisher, commentator and journalist who moved to Hong Kong in 2005 and then Macau in 2009, when he founded O MEDIA, one of Macau’s largest media companies, former and parent company of Inside Asian Gaming (IAG). Both O MEDIA and IAG were merged with US-based gaming media brand CDC Gaming on 1 January 2025, under new corporate parent Complete Media Group (CMG).

Andrew was appointed CEO of Complete Media Group upon the merger. CMG is now the parent of three gaming media brands: Inside Asian Gaming (focusing on land-based gaming in the Asia-Pacific region), CDC Gaming (focusing on land-based gaming in the Americas), and Complete iGaming (focusing on online gaming in the Americas and APAC).

Andrew continues to be Vice Chairman and CEO of IAG and now-sister company O MEDIA.

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