Witnesses implicate Pagcor officials in bribery

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said investigators are working with "potential witnesses who have implicated Pagcor officials" in their probe of

 

bribery allegations against Kazuo Okada, chairman of Japan's Universal Entertainment Corp., regarding the company's planned $2 billion Manila Bay Resorts casino hotel complex. She said that Efraim Genuino, former chairman of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., was "among those being investigated".

“My instruction to the [investigating] panel is to continue with case buildup on the bribery because there was documentary evidence gathered during the initial probe indicating there was indeed bribery,” De Lima said. Unnamed sources told Reuters that the government is preparing to send investigators to Tokyo to interview three former Universal employees. The Department of Justice in July recommend prosecutors pursue criminal charges against Okada and 25 others for allegedly seeking to circumvent restrictions on foreign ownership of land by using front companies in assembling parcels for Manila Bay Resorts.

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