A court in Parañaque in the Philippines has issued an arrest warrant for Universal Entertainment founder Kazuo Okada in connection with charges that he embezzled more than $3m from his own company.
The arrest warrant follows about a month after the Philippine Department of Justice recommended charges against Okada. It has been nearly a year since Okada was ousted from his company amid accusations of financial improprieties.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Takahiro Usui, the former president and COO of Okada Manila, who is accused of being Okada’s co-conspirator.
Both Okada and Usui have consistently maintained their innocence, with Okada arguing publicly that the current Universal Entertainment leadership has made false charges against him in order to seize control of the company.
Prosecutors in both the Philippines and Hong Kong had wavered for most of last year on whether or not to press charges against Okada, apparently unsure if it was a criminal case or simply an internal corporate feud.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
