Japanese gaming entrepreneur Kazuo Okada (pictured) has been placed on an immigration watch list in the Philippines, amid claims repeated by the country’s Justice Secretary that Mr Okada “misappropriated a huge amount of money” from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the promoter of Okada Manila, a US$2.4-billion Manila casino resort named after the billionaire.
The immigration alert was issued on January 9, five days after Tiger Resort requested the move, but was only revealed to the country’s media on March 22. The company has alleged fraud and perjury against Mr Okada.
“Allegedly, [Mr Okada] misappropriated a huge amount of money from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc while he was the chair of its board of directors. Moreover he allegedly made perjurious statements in a complaint he filed against Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc with the Regional Trial Court of Parañaque City,”Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said in his order.
According to one of the media reports, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, the Immigration Commissioner, Jaime Morente, had instructed immigration officials at the country’s airports and seaports immediately to notify the Department of Justice and the country’s National Bureau of Investigation should Mr Okada “try to leave the country”.
The media reports did not clarify whether Mr Okada was actually in the country currently. The entrepreneur recently gave a sit down interview with a Hong Kong newspaper regarding an aspect of his dispute with Universal Entertainment Corp, a Japanese conglomerate he founded, and which controls Tiger Resort.
