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Filipino court issues warrant for Okada’s arrest

Kazuo Okada, Japanese magnate and former Chariman and CEO of Tiger Resorts Leisure Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), has been in a fray for a long time. He was first accused by his former company Universal Entertainment Corporation on charges of corruption and fraud and was subsequently arrested too by Hong Kong’s authorities.

Recently, he pleaded the Philippines’ Department of Justice (DoJ) to reconsider a case against him, which mentioned Okada’s name, along with his former colleague and ex-COO of TRLEI Takahiro Usui, relating to corruption and swindling $3.1 million of company funds.

In his plea, Okada said, “Clearly, the subject moneys, which I lawfully earned, were neither acquired through mistake nor secured through fraud as to constitute an implied trust within the contemplation of Article 1456 of the Civil Code.”

In latest news, the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 257 ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to arrest Okada and bring him to court. The warrant was issued on Friday, 4^th January, and was made public on Sunday.

Judge Rolando How, who issued the warrant, set Okada’s bail at PHP 348,000 (~$6,627) for three charges held against him. Okada, in his defence, gave a statement to the press stating, “As owner of Okada Manila, it is absolutely absurd for me to ‘unlawfully take’ these salaries and fees. I was responsible for the investment of more than $2 billion in Okada Manila. How would I commit estafa against TRLEI and Okada Manila for a measly amount of salaries when I was the one who established and caused the rise and success of Okada Manila?”

The DoJ also weighed in on this saying that Okada’s “defences are now appropriately matters of evidence to be proven in a full-blown trial.” With Philippines’ authorities sparing no time and resource to get Okada to face justice, this news might see a quicker-than-expected climax soon.

Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for more such industry news and for your daily dose of general poker news from around the world.

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