Pagcor Execs Named In Las Vegas Suit
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) — Wynn Resorts Ltd. accused Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada of putting up a top official of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) in a $6,000-a-day suite in Macau as part of a series of payments that the company said appear to have violated US anti-bribery law.
Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp. improperly gave more than $110,000 in payments and gifts to two chief gambling regulators in the Philippines and their families, according to a report prepared for Wynn Resorts and filed Feb. 19 with a lawsuit against Okada in state court in Nevada.
The lawsuit named former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chairman Efraim Genuino and current Chairman Cristino Naguiat, and their families, as the recipients of the payoffs, which dated to 2008.
Okada, his associates and companies made three dozen improper payments, including a four-day stay by Naguiat in the most expensive room at Wynn Resorts Macau, according to a report by Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP. The room, known as Villa 81, covers 7,000 square feet, the report said.
“Naguiat’s luxury stays at Wynn Resorts facilities were fully known to Mr. Okada, who actively involved himself in some of the arrangements,” according to the report, prepared by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Louis Freeh.
Okada, who is developing a gaming business in the Philippines, has been asked to step down as a director of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts.
The casino company claims that Okada, Universal and a company controlled by Universal, Aruze USA Inc., breached their duty to Wynn. On Feb. 19, Wynn forcibly redeemed Universal’s 19.7 percent stake in the company at a discount, escalating a dispute between Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wynn and Okada, who helped bankroll the casino company.
Universal said in a statement Wednesday, that while it hadn’t been provided with a copy of the report, “we believe the allegations leveled against Universal are motivated by self-interest and represent the results of an incomplete and otherwise flawed corporate governance process.”
Universal said Aruze USA would seek a court order to prevent the redemption of the shares.
Okada visited the office of Pagcor, in Manila on Feb. 20 and denied making cash gifts, the regulator said in an e-mailed statement.
Okada told Naguiat, Pagcor’s chairman, that the $110,000 in gifts detailed in the report were “complimentary accommodations” granted to Okada’s business associates from the Philippines and other countries from 2008 to 2011, the according to the statement. The billionaire also apologized to the regulator for including the agency and its officials in the dispute, it said.
The 47-page Wynn report concludes that Okada, his company and associates “appear to have engaged” in violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the Philippines, and may have also done so in South Korea. The FCPA bars corrupt payments to government officials for obtaining or retaining business.
“Based upon a multi-month investigation — which culminated with a personal interview that Okada long evaded — Freeh uncovered substantial evidence of gross improprieties by Okada and his agents,” Wynn Resorts said in its breach-of-fiduciary-duty complaint.
Since 2008, Okada and his associates have procured land and a provisional gaming license to create an establishment known as Entertainment City Manila. Okada is the chairman of Tokyo-based Universal.
Wynn Resorts set up an account funded by deposits from Okada or his company for “billing conveniences related to charges at various Wynn Resorts locales,” according to the Freeh report.




Comments
Please login or register to post comments.