Philippines Supreme Court resolves Okada Manila ownership dispute
A legal dispute over which company is the legal owner of Okada Manila has been resolved.
Universal Entertainment, the Tokyo-based gaming group that owns and operates Okada Manila in the country’s entertainment capital, said in a regulatory filing that earlier this month the Philippine Supreme Court overturned the status quo order (SQAO) issued in April. In 2022, billionaire Kazuo Okada filed a lawsuit against Universal Pictures and Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), Okada Manila's operating parent company, alleging that he was unfairly forced out of the hotel he founded company of. In 2022, the court ruled.
SQAO ordered Universal/TRLEI to restore its executive compensation to the 2017 agreement when Okada was employed.
Okada claimed that his adult children were responsible for his ouster. Their relationship with their father soured in 2016 amid allegations that Okada stole funds from the company for personal use. Okada's children, Tomohiro Okada and Takako Okada, inherited Universal's largest shareholders.
Okada used SQAO to forcibly seize management of Okada Manila during the May 31, 2022 attack on the $2.4 billion integrated resort. Okada's control of the resort lasted for about three months until the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation ordered the return of Universal Studios and TRLEI in September 2022.
Cancel the status quo order
Universal said on Monday that the Philippine Supreme Court overturned its SQAO on Nov. 13. The Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled that Kazuo Okada was "formally relieved of his duties as shareholder, director, chairman and chief executive officer of TRLEI."
The Supreme Court confirmed that [Okada] was only a nominal shareholder in TRLEI, holding only a nominal share, which was revoked by parent company Tiger Resort in 2017," Universal Entertainment said in a statement. "The [court] decision further stated , contrary to his claims, Okada is not a majority shareholder of the ultimate parent company, Okada Holdings Co., Ltd. (OHL). It is based on foreign judgments of Japanese and Hong Kong courts, which are legally binding and recognized in the Philippines. These foreign judgments effectively recognized Tomohiro Okada as the majority shareholder of the OHL. "
The lawsuit ended with the Philippine Supreme Court striking down the SQAO, Universal said in a statement.
TRLEI officials believe at least 500 million pesos ($9 million) in cash was stolen during a three-month period when executives were not allowed access to the property. The company ownership dispute has also led to US businessman Jason Ader and his blank check specialist buyout firm 26 Capital proposing a merger by completing a reverse takeover of the casino resort.
Ongoing criminal proceedings
The Philippine Supreme Court's cancellation of Okada Manila's SQAO is a major blow to Okada. There may be more legal losses in the future.
Okada was arrested and charged in the Philippines last summer on one count of "aggravated coercion." The charges were related to his leadership of the Okada Manila attack.
He has pleaded "not guilty" in his ongoing trial. Okada's lawyers called for the lawsuit filed by the Philippine Justice Department to be dismissed.
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Source: www.casino.org
