Japanese gaming mogul, associate arrested

Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada and an associate have been arrested by anticorruption agents of the Hong Kong government for allegedly trying to defraud a company owned by his family HK$135 million (P918 million).

The arrest of Okada on Aug. 1 in the former British colony came while the Department of Justice was reviewing the $10-million estafa cases filed against him by Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc., operator of the integrated casino resort Okada Manila.

Various Chinese media agencies reported that Okada and a certain Li Jian were held by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The reports said Okada and Li were arrested by ICAC operatives for conspiracy to defraud Okada Holdings Ltd., a company registered in Hong Kong, based on a complaint filed by Tiger Resort Asia Ltd.

Tiger Resort Asia had accused Okada of releasing corporate funds as loans to Li’s Goldluck Tech Ltd. without demanding collateral and interest between February and March 2015.

Okada then allegedly collected the loan payment for his own personal use and paid Li for participating in the scheme.

Tiger Resort Asia’s Philippine subsidiary, which booted out Okada as its chair in 2017, had also filed criminal complaints against the Japanese businessman for allegedly embezzling $10 million in corporate money.