THE PERJURY case against embattled gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada has been dismissed by the Manila City Prosecutors Office due to lack of evidence.
In a statement issued Thursday, Mr. Okada’s party said Senior Assistance City Prosecutor Francisco Salomon junked four counts of perjury filed by Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI).
Kenji Sugiyama, named as TRLEI’s representative of the case, alleged that Mr. Okada committed perjury due to supposedly contrasting claims in his complaints before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Parañaque and before the District Court, Clark County in Nevada, United States.
TRLEI cited how Mr. Okada’s complaint before the Parañaque RTC filed on Aug. 29, 2018 stated that he “officially regained and or never lost the majority control of OHL (Okada Holdings Limited), UEC (Universal Entertainment Corp.), TRAL (Tiger Resorts Asia Limited), and complainant TRLEI.”
OHL owns 67.9% of UEC., a Japanese listed firm that owns TRAL. In turn, TRAL owns TRLEI, the local unit which owns and operates Okada Manila located within the state-run Entertainment City in Parañaque.
Mr. Sugiyama alleged that the statements presented before the Parañaque RTC contradicted Mr. Okada’s admission that he “lost control of, and was ousted from, UEC; and has not regained control thereof as of the date of said filing” in his complaint in the Nevada court.
TRLEI claimed the complaint before the Nevada court was filed on Aug. 24, 2018.
The prosecutor, however, did not consider the Nevada complaint in issuing his ruling, since TRLEI was not able to prove its authenticity nor was it subscribed to by Mr. Okada or his lawyer.
“We cannot just assume that respondent Okada has knowledge or knows the contents of the Nevada Complaint. In every criminal prosecution, the evidence must be tangible and verifiable and not be mere conjecture or speculations,” Mr. Salomon said in his 12-page resolution distributed to reporters by Mr. Okada’s camp on Thursday.
Mr. Salomon also noted that prosecution for perjury must show a willful and deliberate assertion of a falsehood.
“Settled is the rule that mere inaccurate statement under oath without malice does not amount to perjury,” according to the ruling.
“It is his belief that he never lost ownership and control of his shares in OHL, UEC, TRAL and TRLEI because he owns and retains almost 100 percent of his shares in OHL.”
The court also noted that Mr. Okada still owns almost 100% of shares in OHL since his children, Tomohiro and Hiromi, have yet to pay the inheritance taxes needed to make the transfer of shares official.
“The inheritance taxes were so high which Tomohiro and Hiromi cannot pay, and have not paid to date. Thus, these shares continue to be under his control,” according to the resolution. — Arra B. Francia
