A public record at Tonga's Business Registry shows that a company called Tavake Tamafua Ltd. was registered in Tonga on 29 November 2016 with two directors 'Epeli Taione and Havea L. Gatti.

The company is believed to be a local partner in a new tourism facility known as the "Tavake Tamafua Tourism Project (TTTIP)", which has foreign counterparts involved in a development proposal supported by Cabinet.

But Tonga's Prime Minister's Office could not identify the local partners in the project, this morning.

Under the project an American company Red Warrior Entertainment LLC, claims to have been awarded the first ever casino license for Tonga as part of the development.

Yesterday, the PMO denied that the government of Tonga had issued an exclusive gaming licence to Red Warrior Entertainment LLC. They stated that while Cabinet supported a hotel and shopping mall and villas as part of the proposal, the TTTIP was still "subject to facilitation of legal documents and relevant plans and the conduct of appropriate due diligence." They said they had not approved the Aria Tourism Entertainment Gaming Resort, which had been part of the initial proposal.

Today the PMO press office said there are "many partners both local and foreign" involved in the Tavake Tamafua Tourism Project "and Red Warrior Entertainment is just one of them".

A spokesperson for the PMO told Matangi Tonga they could not release the names of all the organisations and individuals involved. "Only the Chief Secretary for Cabinet (Dr Palenitina Langa'oi) can decide whether to release that information."

Public record

Meanwhile the public record shows that Tavake Tamafua Ltd. has already been registered and is waiting for the issue of its business licence, which is expected to be stamped by the Registrar of companies Ms Distaquaine Tuihalamaka after she returns from overseas this month.

Tonga's business registry explained to Matangi Tonga that in this case it is a straightforward process and that "it won't go through diligence – this only happens if there are business activities that need endorsement."

The business registration for Tavake Tamafua Ltd. does not state what business the company will conduct, and those details will be stated on the business licence when it is issued.

The registry had no record of registration for Aria Tourism Entertainment Gaming Resort.

Gambling is prohibited by law in Tonga.