Okada mulls case vs Reuters over Pagcor reports

MANILA, Philippines – The group of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada said Tuesday, December 4, it is considering suing the US-based news agency Reuters for its “biased” and “malicious” reports about the group and a former Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corp. (Pagcor) official. 

Okada’s casino company Universal Entertainment Corp. released a statement for the first time to comment on reports published by Reuters on November 16 and 30, which exposed alleged multimillion dollar payoffs made by the company to former Pagcor consultant Rodolfo Soriano.

The reports stated Soriano received at least $30 million in exchange for the approval of Universal Entertainment’s license to operate a casino project in the sprawling 120-hectare Entertainment City of Pagcor in Manila.

“Reuters’ reporting is full of malice and our company firmly objects to this. We believe that Reuters should be fully held to account legally for the damage brought about through their biased reporting, and we are exploring the possibility of taking legal actions against them,” the Okada firm said.

The company also claimed the reports were “a clear misrecognition of the facts.”

It said it has already reported details surrounding its Philippines business to the Nevada Gaming authorities through the company’s Compliance Committee. 

The company also said it has already carried out appropriate measures to deal with problems concerning some of their former employees.

“Reuters has intentionally manufactured information unfavorable to us without so much as confirming the facts or questioning appropriate persons involved. This favoritism has certainly adversely affected Reuters’ long-built standing as a news organization,” it noted.

Philippine authorities have launched an investigation into the reports.

If the reports are proven true, the Palace said it would not think twice about revoking the casino license awarded to the Japanese tycoon. – Rappler.com