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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino L. Naguiat Jr. has been dragged into a major investigation in the Nevada court for allegedly being a beneficiary of special, extravagant favors from Kazuo Okada, a director of Wynn Resorts, Limited, and of Wynn Macau, Limited.
Okada's company has applied to operate part of PAGCOR’s Entertainment City project in Pasay City.
According to reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Okada had billeted "Naguiat, his wife, their three children, and nanny," at company expense, in expensive suites at the Wynn Resorts Hotel that cost up to $6,000 a night.
In their 69-page information, the board of directors of Wynn filed with the Clark County of Nevada a case for breach of fiduciary duty and related offenses - "gross improprieties" and making "unlawful payments to foreign gambling regulators" - against Okada and his agents, Aruze USA, Inc., and Universal Entertainment Corp.
PAGCOR as well as the national government have been quick to dismiss Wynn's implication of PAGCOR officials in bribery and corruption cases targetting Okada. Officials of the gaming authority and of Malacañang Palace suggested on Wednesday that Naguiat and his predecessors at PAGCOR did not receive anything that was outside of standard business practice and courtesies in the gambling sector. The special treatments and accommodations in hotels abroad, Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda said, could even be justified in the context of government savings.
But documents posted related to Wynn's own investigations suggest that Naguiat and other PAGCOR executives received more than standard courtesies. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism obtained a copy of the information that has been uploaded on www.vegasinc.com, as well as other documents related to Wynn vs Okada case from the US Securities and Exchange Commission database.
A careful study of the case information reveals even more intriguing details about apparent indiscretions that marked Naguiat's conduct toward Okada.
The case document disclosed that in 36 separate instances, between May 2008 and June 2011, Okada and his agents made payments in the amount of $110,000 that directly benefited various PAGCOR officials, including Naguiat and his family, and former PAGCOR Chair Ephraim Genuino.
The amount was reportedly spent on "luxury lodging, extravagant dinners, shopping, and cash to spend, among others."
Naguiat had stayed twice at Wynn Macau (September 22-26, 2010 and June 6-10, 2011) and once at Wynn Las Vegas (Nov. 15-20, 2010).
On top of the luxurious lodging, Okada also gave the Naguiats $5,000 "cash advance" during one of their stays in Macau.
See the PCIJ's original post, with all the relevant documents, here.
