GGRAsia – Universal Ent president out over US$43mln payment

Universal Ent president out over US$43mln payment

Apr 29, 2024 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Jun Fujimoto has resigned as president and as a representative director of Universal Entertainment Corp, the parent of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines.

The move follows a Thursday ruling in the Tokyo High Court on a shareholder lawsuit dating back to August 26, 2019.

Universal Entertainment said in an announcement with Friday’s date, that the court found Mr Fujimoto had – as initially alleged – caused the company to transfer nearly US$43.5 million outside the company without reasonable necessity and without following internal decision-making procedures, thereby breaching his fiduciary duty or duty of loyalty as a director of the company. He was also liable for compensation to Universal, according to the court.

On June 30, 2022, a lower tribunal – the Tokyo District Court – had actually rejected that claim, finding that the company had passed the necessary board resolution.

But the plaintiff in the case – described in Universal Entertainment’s statement only as “a shareholder of the company” – appealed to the Tokyo High Court on July 13, 2022 against the ruling in the first judgment, and the Tokyo High Court subsequently rendered a fresh judgment.

A separate announcement from Universal Entertainment said that after an extraordinary meeting of the board on Friday, Hajime Tokuda had been appointed group president and a representative director; and Takako Okada as a representative director.

Mr Fujimoto, who was also the group’s chief executive, is now identified by the company as a director.

In May 2019 the founder of Universal Entertainment, Kazuo Okada, had accused Mr Fujimoto as being one of several people that had combined to remove him from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the group’s unit that controls Okada Manila.

Mr Kazuo Okada was ousted as chairman of Universal Entertainment itself in June 2017, and was removed from office at Tiger Resort the same month.