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Firm wants Parañaque fiscal to inhibit from Kazuo Okada estafa complaint
The company that owns and operates Okada Manila on Wednesday asked a Parañaque prosecutor to inhibit from the estafa complaint it had filed against Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, who was the casino resort's former chief executive officer.
Okada, earlier placed by the Department of Justice under a lookout bulletin, was booted out by a majority of shareholders composed of his wife and children, who accused him of embezzling more than $10 million of Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) funds between early 2016 and June 2017.
In an urgent motion for inhibition, City Prosecutor Amerhassan Paudac was accused of bias and gross partiality by TRLEI and Okada's family after a resolution yet to be officially released by his office found its way last week into the Instagram and Facebook accounts of a certain Chloe Kim.
TRLEI claimed Kim was Okada's "close companion," who the company noted had "bragged [about] and insinuated" having joined the Japanese mogul in a private jet and yacht through her social media account.
The firm also said Kim, who worked as a manager at the casino resort, stopped reporting for work when Okasa was kicked out of the company in June 2017.
“Resolutions purportedly disposing the captioned cases in favor of respondent Okada have apparently been leaked… as shown by the unlawful publication thereof in the Facebook and Instagram accounts of his close companion, Chloe Kim although said resolutions have not been officially released," TRLEI said in its motion.
“As city prosecutor, he is expected to manifest such degree of impartiality which should not be tainted by scintilla of doubt,” the company added.
Okada is facing four counts of estafa and three counts of perjury filed by TRLEI, which he had briefly led as chief executive officer last year. He is accused of amassing over $3 million in salaries and consultancy fees from the firm.
On May 18, Kim —in a public post — supposedly put up photos of the dispositive and signature portions of the purported resolutions dismissing two estafa cases against the businessman and other former executives of the TRLEI.
The post had a caption saying, "Devils will go the [to] hell soon! 2 estapa [estafa] cases against Kazuo Okada of Okada Manila dismissed. Justice prevails.”
TRLEI said even its legal counsels have yet to be given access to the said resolutions as of May 21.
Following this, the firm claimed that Paudac was biased and partial in favor of Okada.
"With the alacrity with which Chloe Kim and Mr. Okada obtained in advance copies of the said resolutions, TRLEI cannot help but fear that the resolutions had been pre-arranged with City Prosecutor Paudac to favor Mr. Okada,” it added. — MDM, GMA News
