The perjury case against the casino boss was dismissed by a Manila prosecutor over lack of sufficient evidence
A Manila prosecutor has dismissed perjury claims made by Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment against its former boss, Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada. The dismissal came as a small victory in Mr. Okada’s lengthy legal battle to regain control over Okada Holdings, the parent company of Tiger Resort and a number of other businesses.
The prosecutor said has decided to dismiss the case due to a lack of sufficient evidence, Mr. Okada’s legal team told local media.
Tiger Resort sued Mr. Okada for perjury due to his claims that he still owned and controlled the company through Okada Holdings and several other companies. Mr. Okada was ousted from his posts at Tiger Resort and Okada Holdings in the summer of 2017 over claims that he had made improper money transfers for his own benefit without discussing the matter with fellow board members.
Mr. Okada has maintained that he was guilty of nothing and that his ouster was the result from a plot schemed by his son Tomohiro and the President of Universal Entertainment Corp., Jun Fujimoto. Universal Entertainment is the gaming machine manufacturer Mr. Okada founded in Japan more than five decades ago.
Never Lost Control
Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Franciso Salomon said that Mr. Okada was left with the impression that he has never lost control and ownership of Okada Holdings, Tiger Resort and several other companies.
The businessman filed a suit last fall saying that his ouster from the companies was illegal. The prosecutor in the perjury case said in his decision that since Mr. Okada believed his ouster or removal from Okada Holdings “as sole director was illegal and void ab initio, he never lost the beneficial ownership and majority control” of Okada Holdings, Universal Entertainment, Tiger Resort Asia, and Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment.
Despite his recent small victories, Mr. Okada is still facing arrest in the Philippines. A Parañaque court has ordered his arrest in relation to three fraud cases. The casino tycoon was accused of receiving more than $3 million in 2017 in an alleged unauthorized compensation from Tiger Resort’s board of directors.
Mr. Okada’s legal team has argued that he had received the money as a lawful compensation and that his indictment was wrongful as there was no actual evidence of fraud or conspiracy.
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