Exclusive: Philippines fixer paid $30 million by Okada's Universal - sources
Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada
attends the opening ceremony of his dining complex in Hong Kong (Bobby Yip
Reuters, REUTERS / May 15, 2012)
TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada's Universal Entertainment funneled at least $30 million to an ex-consultant for the Philippines gaming authority who is now at the center of a bribery investigation, according to sources and company records.
The sum is six times the amount initially confirmed by Reuters and could, if found to be bribery, result in Okada being stripped of his firm's casino license in the Philippines and also jeopardize his gaming license in Las Vegas.
A Hong Kong firm established by Okada's Universal sent the money to Manila-based consultant Rodolfo Soriano in a series of payments in the first half of 2010, according to a review of company records and interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees and people familiar with the investigation.
Soriano, who has close ties to key members of the administration of former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, received the payments as Universal was lobbying for tax and other government concessions to boost the profitability of a $2 billion casino it was developing on Manila Bay.
Soriano is now under investigation by the Philippine Department of Justice which has created an inquiry panel on the payments with a target to submit findings within the next month.
Universal, a Tokyo-based maker of gaming machines majority owned by an Okada family trust, had no comment through its lawyer, Yuki Arai. Soriano could not be reached for comment.
In addition to the investigation in the Philippines, the Universal payments are being probed by U.S. gaming regulators, with the Nevada Gaming Control Board likely to call the 70-year-old billionaire to give evidence at a closed-door investigative hearing, people familiar with the matter said.
Soriano's powerful connections included Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel, with whom he had travelled to Las Vegas in 2009.
Soriano was an early partner in Okada's Philippine project, and Universal documents describe him as the "personal secretary" to Efraim Genuino, former head of gambling regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Jose Miguel Arroyo, a lawyer by training, could not be reached for comment. His spokesman, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, said he was unaware of any business dealings between Jose Miguel Arroyo and Soriano. "We are denying reports linking Attorney Arroyo to that bribery case," Topacio said.
Genuino's lawyers did not respond to calls seeking comment. PAGCOR has said it has no knowledge of the Soriano payments but is cooperating with the Philippine bribery investigation.
The Universal payments to Soriano in 2010 were described at a company meeting as a "completion bonus" for his help in clearing remaining hurdles for the casino, including an exemption from corporate tax and foreign ownership restrictions, people involved in the project said.
Philippine authorities have already threatened to strip Okada's operating company of its casino license if investigators find evidence of bribery. Nevada regulators could also impose sanctions, including a suspension of Okada's Las Vegas license.
Either outcome would represent a major setback for Okada, who has vowed to bounce back from a costly legal fight with American casino magnate Steve Wynn to turn Universal into Asia's leading operator of high-end casino resorts.
In the United States, the FBI has also taken statements from those involved in the Soriano payments, according to people familiar with that inquiry. The bureau declined to comment on the state of its inquiry.
LUCRATIVE CONCESSIONS
The Nevada Gaming Control Board's investigation has been underway since at least August and is gathering momentum.
"We are continuing our work," board chairman A.G. Burnett said, declining to comment on the agency's next moves or the likely conclusion of its investigation. "We're about in the middle stage of our investigation."
Hearings could help the board's three-member investigative panel decide whether to bring a formal complaint against Okada or his company, the people familiar with the investigation said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-casinos-philippines-universalbre8at0a7-20121129,0,4542468.story
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