Three officials of Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), which operates hotel-casino Okada Manila Resort in Paranaque, on Monday filed separate criminal complaints before the Department of Justice, in connection with the “violent takeover “ by the group of gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada and his Filipino partner and businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco last week.
The complaints were filed by Japanese nationals Michiaki Satate, co-vice chairperson and director of TRLEI; Hajima Tokuda, co-vice chairperson and authorized representative of Universal Entertainment Corporation (UEC); and James Lorenzana, a Filipino member of the Board of Directors of TRLEI.
UEC, a publicly-listed company in Japan, owns 99.99 percent of TRLEI, the Philippine firm that owns and operates the Okada Manila Resort.
In his complaint, Satate filed grave coercion under Article 286 and unjust vexation under Article 287 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) while Tokuda filed a complaint for kidnapping and serious illegal detention under Article 267, grave coercion under Article 286, and unjust vexation under Article 287 of the RPC.
On the other hand, Lorenzana filed grave coercion under Article 286, slight physical injuries, and unjust vexation under Article 287 of the RPC.
All the three complainants named the same respondents in their respective complaint-affidavits which include Okada; TRLEI president and board member Cojuangco; TRLEI board members Dino Espeleta, Maximo Modesto Flores, Tetsuya Yokota, and Hiroshi Kawamura; Kazuo’s legal counsel Florentino “Binky” Herrera III; and several security guards who participated in the Okada takeover.
Lorenzana said the respondents should also be indicted for slight physical injuries under Article 266 of the RPC.
Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. (TRAL), the parent company of TRLEI, meanwhile has branded as a “sham board” the newly created board of directors of the group of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, which took control the casino and hotel last week.
Estrella Elamparo, legal counsel for Tiger Resorts group said TRAL will not recognize any businesses or transactions that will be entered upon by the group of Kazuo Okada.
The gaming regulator Pagcor meanwhile emphasized its neutrality in the ongoing corporate dispute. With Jenniffer B. Austria
