Okada family members helped the Okada Holdings board oust Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada from his role as a director, Reuters reported citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
Based on information from three separate sources, the news agency revealed that a family rift between Mr. Okada and his relatives culminated in his resignation from the Okada Holdings board back in May.
Based in Hong Kong, Okada Holdings is an investment vehicle that, among other things, owns a 69% stake in Japanese pachinko machine manufacturer Universal Entertainment Corp., a company Mr. Okada himself founded back in the 1960s.
According to Reuters’ sources, Mr. Okada’s son Tomohiro was one of the participants in the family conflict. It is believed that he disapproved highly of how his father used Universal funds allocated to Okada Holdings. The money may have been used for buying art pieces for Mr. Okada’s museum in the resort town of Hakone in Japan, sources pointed out.
Mr. Okada is at present the largest shareholder in Okada Holdings, with a 46.4% stake. On the other hand, his son currently holds a 43.5% stake in the investment company. And Mr. Okada’s daughter Hiromi has a 10% interest in the company. Together the siblings have the holding needed to remove anyone from the board.
Mr. Okada was also removed from his Chairman post at Universal, following the recent announcement that he was under investigation for the allegedly improper transfer of HK$135 million from Universal subsidiary Tiger Resort Asia to an unnamed third party. Mr. Okada was accused of extending the loan without receiving the necessary approval from fellow board members. According to the findings of an internal report, the greater portion of the above-mentioned sum was transferred to Okada Holdings and personally benefited Mr. Okada.
The Universal board announced earlier in June the appointment of a Special Investigation Committee that would probe into the Japanese businessman’s activities. Results from the probe were to be announced by June 30. It was later on confirmed that two more cases of improper transfer would be investigated. On Tuesday, June 27, Universal released a statement, saying that given the addition of the two new instances, Committee members have asked for more time to probe into the matter properly.
Mr. Okada was also removed from the board of Universal’s Tiger Resort, Leisure, and Entertainment subsidiary after news about the ongoing investigation spread. Tiger Resort is the company that currently runs Okada Manila, the $2.4-billion integrated resort located in the heart of the Philippine capital.
