Japan court rules Okada Universal move invalid: reports

Jul 19, 2019 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Philippine media report that the Tokyo High Court has dismissed a legal bid by Japanese entrepreneur Kazuo Okada (pictured) that might have allowed him to regain control of Universal Entertainment Corp, the Japanese conglomerate he founded but from which he was ousted in June 2017.

It was also reported that the Parañaque Regional Trial Court in Manila had separately denied earlier this month an attempt by Mr Okada to overturn a Philippine arrest warrant in connection with allegations against him in that country of “estafa”, a form of fraud.

In the Tokyo process, the court reportedly dismissed an appeal against a decision by a lower Japanese court that had upheld a trust agreement relating to a Hong Kong-registered company controlling a majority of Universal Entertainment’s shares. Lawyers for Mr Okada said in February his side would contest the decision of the Tokyo court that ruled as valid the 2017 agreement.

Under that agreement, Mr Okada’s daughter Hiromi had assigned certain voting rights in family-related business to her brother Hiromi, giving the latter effective control over privately-held Hong Kong-based Okada Holdings Ltd, the majority shareholder of Japan-listed gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment.

Universal Entertainment in turn controls Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the promoter of the Okada Manila casino resort in Manila. The venue this week reported casino gross gaming revenue up 45 percent in the six months to June 30.

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