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.
