On July 12, Japanese entertainment conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp. said it will file a criminal complaint in Hong Kong against company founder Kazuo Okada and his “collaborators.” Universal based its claim on what it described as the illegal takeover of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines in May.
According to GGRAsia, Universal will take action in Hong Kong, because Tiger Resort Asia Ltd., which is registered in that city, holds 99.9 percent of the voting rights of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI), the operating entity of Okada Manila.
Okada was ousted from his company and the TRLEI board in 2017 on fraud charges, but in April, the Philippine Supreme Court said the composition of the TRLEI board should revert to that period.
Universal Entertainment isn’t buying it. The company contends that “Mr. Okada and his collaborators” committed a “serious violation of Hong Kong law” in its takeover of the Manila resort, “including falsification of official documents, fraud and embezzlement.” It further asserted that Tiger Resort Asia is “a wholly-owned subsidiary” of Universal, and the directors of Tiger Resort Asia “are recognized by the authorities under Hong Kong law and registered and publicly disclosed in Hong Kong.”
Universal also said it would delay disclosure of the Manila resort’s second-quarter fiscal results, scheduled for August 9, because Okada and his associates “refused to provide any information whatsoever to the company, leaving it unable to disclose a preliminary report according to its normal schedule.” The company said Okada and his party have continued to “occupy” Okada Manila—in its view, without justification.
“With respect to this situation, the company group has established achieving the reclaiming of the Okada Manila and the normalization of its operation solely through legal means, as its basic policy,” Universal Entertainment stated. “The company will promptly disclose the quarterly results of TRLEI as soon as it has successfully verified the figures and reliability thereof.”
Universal also accused Okada’s representatives of holding a “baseless and deceitful” press conference that included “credit-grabbing” and claiming responsibility for Okada Manila’s business performance. At that press conference, Okada’s group said foot traffic at the Entertainment City resort complex had grown 8 percent in May, reaching around 74 percent of its pre-Covid levels. Universal Entertainment was running the property during that period, and did so until Okada returned on May 31.
The TRAL-backed board added, “Now that we are at a more comfortable space into the pandemic, almost all businesses in leisure, entertainment, gaming and tourism expect an upswing in booking requests, revenues and visits owing to the revenge travel phenomenon.
“The growth that Okada Manila is experiencing today is driven largely by the strong recovery plan that the legitimate TRLEI board developed and is influenced by the pent-up demand for travel and leisure activities.”
The Okada camp disputed claims from the ousted board that Kazuo Okada holds only a single share in TRAL, which itself owns 99.9 percent of TRLEI shares, and therefore does not own a controlling stake. Okada lawyer Norman Golez refuted that allegation, saying, “They always say that he only has one share. That’s not true. That’s very misleading. Ultimately, there are pending cases that have yet to determine who the true legal and beneficial owner is of the practically supermajority of the shares in Okada Manila or TRLEI.”
Firing back, the TRAL-backed board said, “Despite being the namesake of the integrated casino resort, Kazuo Okada, who has 29 pending criminal and civil cases in six countries around the world, was ousted from TRLEI, TRAL and UEC in 2017 after an internal investigation revealed that he stole $20 million for personal gain.
“His ouster was not unexpected and was in fact seconded by the Japanese Supreme Court, which ordered him to pay back the amount. To date, Kazuo Okada has yet to return the money he stole from the company.
“Any future plans that he and his cohorts project are baseless and are without merit, as TRAL does not recognize—much less support—him or his henchmen in conducting the business of Okada Manila.
“We have faith that the Philippine Supreme Court will act with dispatch to put to rest this intra-corporate dispute that has affected the 5,000-strong employees of Okada Manila, its suppliers and its investors.”
