Okada again denies paying bribes to Philippine regulator

Jun 19, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada has again denied claims that he bribed Philippine gaming regulators to get a casino licence for Manila’s Entertainment City.

Yuki Arai, a lawyer representing Mr Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp, said in a statement on Wednesday that the terms and conditions of Mr Okada’s Philippine subsidiary Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc are similar to those secured by other casino licensees in Entertainment City.

“Hence, there would be no basis to allegations that improper payments were made to obtain preferential treatment,” Mr Arai said in a statement quoted by Philippine media.

He also opposed allegations that Mr Okada ordered bribes of US$40 million to be paid to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) consultant Rodolfo Soriano, stating that the Universal employees involved acted on their “own-self interest”.

Earlier this month, a new criminal complaint against Mr Okada was filed in Tokyo by a former Universal employee, alleging that the tycoon had ordered the payment of bribes to advance the still-unfinished project.

Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment is the developer of the under-construction Manila Bay Resorts. The project has been mired in regulatory and legal controversy for the past two years. Its first phase is scheduled to open in 2015.

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