DOJ: Resolution on Okada estafa case not yet final

Kazuo Okada —JILSON SECKLER TIU

The decision of a Parañaque City prosecutor absolving Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada in the $10-million estafa case filed by a gaming firm may still be nullified, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra maintained on Friday.

He said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was now reviewing the resolution issued by City Prosecutor Amerhassan Paudac on May 24, upon the request of the complainant, Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Inc.

“If upon review, the DOJ sees it differently, the resolution may be set aside, reversed or modified accordingly,” Guevarra said in a text message.

Earlier, he granted Tiger Resort’s petition urging the DOJ to take over the preliminary investigation of its criminal complaint after it accused Paudac of prematurely releasing the resolution to Okada’s camp.

Okada and his associates were accused of pocketing some $10 million in company funds from 2016 until he was sacked as chief executive officer in June 2017.—Marlon Ramos