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Japan-based investor denies pulling out from COP
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Posted on Nov 29 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Japan-based investor Yusuke Fumoto denied yesterday that he has pulled out from the Coral Ocean Point Resort Club where he also serves as chief executive officer and president.
In a telephone interview, Fumoto said the claim of Angelina “Tin” Podiquit, the terminated COP accountant, is not true at all.
“I never pulled out,” he added.
In fact, Fumoto said he has been meeting with investors in Japan and China on how best they could invest in Coral Ocean Point.
Vincent Torres, who is chairman of COP’s new owner, Suwaso Corp., also denied the report, saying the claim that Fumoto pulled out is “absolutely not true.”
“He’s my partner. We have our plan and everything is going as planned,” Torres said.
As for Podiquit, Torres said the accountant was released or her contract with COP was not renewed. “Because it [contract] already expired, we don’t have a contract.”
Podiquit told Saipan Tribune on Friday that the COP management had announced during an F&B meeting two weeks ago that Fumoto has indeed backed out. She disclosed that three investors had actually already backed out and Fumoto was just the latest.
Podiquit is preparing a lawsuit against Suwaso over her alleged termination without cause, which according to her was unlawful. The 48-year-old accountant claims that she was treated like a criminal after being handed her termination letter, when she was asked to take her things from the office and was escorted by two employees out of the premises.
Podiquit said the only reason she could think of why she was terminated was that she was truthful to vendors, who would follow up on payments. She said she would tell them that COP has no money.
Last Aug. 5, the Senate and the House of Representatives approved Suwaso Corp.’s proposed 15-year extension on its 25-year public land lease for COP despite Gov. Benigno Fitial’s request to members of the House leadership to postpone a vote on the deal.
The new Suwaso owners promised to settle the previous owners’ debts to the CNMI government in tax arrears of almost $1 million, and with other CNMI private and public agencies using an immediate infusion of $7 million.
