Okada Manila officers and employees who aided the illegally constituted board in siphoning money out of the company to benefit themselves may face administrative, civil and criminal cases should they fail to return the money they disbursed from the casino cage, according to Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. (TRAL), which owns 99.9 percent of the shares in Okada Manila operator Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI).
TRAL has issued demand letters to three Okada Manila officers for the immediate return of released cage money amounting to P122 million. Through its legal counsel Ocampo & Manalo Law Firm, TRAL sent the demand letters to Okada Manila Assistant Vice President for Accounting and Finance Gilbert Gianzon, Okada Manila Director for Finance Renato Marcelo and Okada Manila Manager for Accounts Payable Rowena Chan.
Gianzon, an ex-Okada Manila employee, was recently assigned by the self-appointed board to oversee the casino cage, making him in charge of all the cash inside Okada Manila.
The three officers were involved in authorizing the release of P122 million in cash from the casino cage to TransAsia Construction Development Corp. (TCDC) — a company linked to a Kazuo Okada ally, Dindo Espeleta — despite being repeatedly reminded that the release of payments to TCDC is not in the ordinary course of business.
This payment made to TCDC using the casino cage’s money is part of an ongoing dispute, where TRLEI is demanding from TCDC the return of P9.2 billion in overpayments.
Gianzon, Marcelo and Chan have five calendar days to return the cash to the casino cage. Banking institutions have frozen the accounts of the integrated casino resort due to the ongoing intra-corporate dispute.
“The illegally constituted board led by Kazuo Okada should stop [their actions] immediately to protect not only our investors but the sustainability of the business, which employs more than 5,000 workers,” said Kenshi Asano, TRAL representative and Director of Universal Entertainment Corporation. “We, the investors in Okada Manila, are respectfully asking the honorable Supreme Court to hasten the resolution of the intra-corporate dispute in our multibillion-dollar investment.”
Employee loyalty
Concerned Okada Manila employees had informed TRAL of the developments in the casino resort. They have so far been demoted and some have been improperly terminated.
“TRAL feels strongly about this injustice and believes that it is not fair for employees to suffer because of their loyalty to the company and to their co-Okada Manila team members,” Asano said. “Therefore, TRAL hereby announces that it will offer a reward to employees of Okada Manila who can provide information that leads to the recovery of any funds that are released from Okada Manila or improperly paid to other third parties under the management of the self-appointed board.”
The amount of the reward will be equal to five percent of the amount of recovered funds. TRAL believes this would likely include the P2 billion payment released to TCDC.
“Should this amount be recovered, the informant stands to receive five percent of P2 billion or P100 million. TRAL urges Okada Manila employees who observe suspicious payments or potential outright theft to please send an email with the full details to okadamanila.rewardhotline@hq.universal-777.com if they have any information on improper taking, or payment of Okada Manila funds,” Asano said.