(SAKSI NGAYON NEWS TEAM)

NALAGAY sa kontrobersya si House Speaker Martin Romualdez matapos idawit sa usapin ng suhulan sa Manila casino.

Sa ulat na inilabas ng Japan Times, nakasaad na lumapit umano ang mga opisyal ng Japanese entertainment company na kasalukuyang may ‘merger fight” sa Manila casino resort, sa isang

Filipino legislator upang tulungan silang muling makuha ang kontrol sa property, ayon sa isang special purpose acquisition company na inasunto ang Universal Entertainment.

Sa inihaing kaso noong nakaraang Lunes sa Delaware Chancery Court, sinabi ng SPAC, 26 Capital Acquisition, na ang Universal executives ay nagdala ng “heavy luggage” nang makipagpulong kay

Romualdez upang makuha ang suporta nito sa nasabing legal dispute. Sinikap umano nitong muling makuha ang control sa 40-hectare Okada Manila resort and casino, na nagkakahalaga ng $2.6 billion.

Kabilang sa inihaing reklamo ang emails na ayon sa 26 Capital ay nagpapakita kung paanong lumipad ang executives mula sa Japan upang makausap si Romualdez para humingi ng tulong upang matiyak na mapilit nito ang Supreme Court ng Pilipinas na maisulong ang kanilang interes.

Sinabi ng mga abogado ng SPAC na kabilang sa maling ginawa ng Universal ay “potential bribery of governmental officials followed by efforts to run the deal clock out before such activity comes to light.”

Hindi naman nagbigay ng kanyang komento si Brad Davey, isang Wilmington-based lawyer ng Universal’s Tiger Resort unit, hinggil sa alegasyon. Hindi rin sumagot si Romualdez sa email na ipinadala sa kanya hinggil sa isyu.

Ang SPACs ay bumibili ng mga kompanya mula sa makukuha nilang investment money. Agad silang umunlad mula sa masalimuot na financial world patungo sa investing craze bago isinailalim sa pagsisiyasat ng gobyerno.

Inilunsad ni Jason Ader, CEO ng SpringOwl Asset Management, ang 26 Capital para maisama ito sa resort at makakuha ng ‘listing’ sa property. Ang nasabing kasunduan ay nasira, kaya naman kinasuhan ng SPAC ang Universal upang maayos ito. Si Ader, isang beteranong industry analyst na nakaupo sa board ng Las Vegas Sands, ay nagbigay ng testimonya nitong buwan na ang

Universal ay nagsimulang isabotahe ang transaksyon noong 2022. Idineklara ng Universal na ‘the merger dead on June 30.’

Ang alitan ay kinasasangkutan ng $275 million investment ng 26 Capital sa nasabing resort and casino. Ang Universal ay pag-aari ang 88% ng property sa ilalim ng terms ng deal. Ngunit naging kumplikado ang transaksyon dahil sa kaguluhan sa loob ng Japanese company. Ang Universal at units na nagma-manage sa casino ay nagkagulo makaraang ang kanilang founder, na si billionaire

Kazuo Okada, ay napatalsik mula sa board noong nakaraang taon.

Nakuha ni Okada ang control sa property makaraang ibalik sa puwesto ng Philippine Supreme Court ang bilyonaryo, bilang chairman ng operator ng casino, ang Tiger Resort Asia, isang Universal unit.

Ito ay nagbunsod sa Universal executives na gumawa ng paraan na muling makuha ang control sa casino, ayon sa alegasyon ng SPAC.

Hindi umano naabisuhan ang mga opisyal ng SPAC hinggil sa “July 2022 top-secret heavy-luggage mission,” pahayag pa ng mga abogado ni Ader.

Ang kaso ay dinidinig sa Delaware kung saan ang 26 Capital ay incorporated.

Kaugnay nito, naglabas na ng kanilang opisyal na pahayag ang Universal Entertainment Corp. na pinabubulaanan ang mga kontrobersyang ikinakabit sa kanilang kumpanya.

Bunga lamang umano ito ng galit, kasakiman at pagiging desperado.

“We strongly and categorically deny all the false allegations being made against our company regarding any activities involving corruption.

These fake accusations are motivated by spite, greed, and desperation.

The individual making these claims, Jason Ader of 26 Capital, is a spurned investor who is still hopelessly trying to force a merger with our company. While there were taks of this merger last year, all deals were terminated when we learned about Ader’s fraudulent, unethical, and illegal conduct throughout the dialogues. These include his attempts to bribe our officials to ignore or withdraw red-flag findings about the merger using private investigators to harass and intimidate our senior executives who had reservations about the deal, leaking privileged information, and failing to stop insider trading activities of Ader’s business associate.

Unbelievably, Ader has even filed a case in a US Court to compel our company to complete the cancelled merger. Perhaps sensing an impending loss due to the lack of any valid arguments, it appears that he has resorted to inventing absurd stories to pressure us into negotiations.

These fake narratives were intentionally designed to target high ranking officials that have absolutely nothing to do with our corporate dispute. The reason is clear and simple: Ader needs money to pay investors that he misled into believing that the merger was a certainty, and he presumes that this ploy will lead to a payoff,

Unfortunately for Ader, “the fruit of speculation greatly depends on the integrity of the tree”. In this case, both the accusations and the accuser cannot withstand the weight of the following truths:

First, our company never engaged in any form of bribery or corruption.

Second, the Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives-who has now been regretfully and unfortunately dragged into this feud – is completely innocent, and is most likely shocked and bewildered why his name has even been attached to a dispute that he is completely uninvolved in.

To the good Speaker, to his family, and to all our stakeholders, we would like to sincerely apologize if you have been caught in the cross-fire of our legal battle against an opponent who plays dirty.”