Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada is out in the cold once again with another major legal defeat, while those whom he regards as his betrayers have been on a winning streak.
Billionaire Okada’s ill fortunes began in early 2017 when he was accused of embezzlement at his own Universal Entertainment Corporation. His ex-wife and own children voted him out of authority over the pachinko and gambling company which he had founded.
After a long series of legal defeats in Japan and elsewhere, Okada finally scored a stunning victory in late April 2022 when the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a shocking order that Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), the management company for the Okada Manila casino resort (which is owned by Universal), was obliged to restore the company leadership to the state that it was in before Okada had been removed.
Okada, however, overreached by ordering a dramatic invasion and physical occupation of Okada Manila, compete with thugs dragging rival Japanese businessmen out of the building by force. This occupation was overturned–again by force–three months later when the other side sent in security guards backed by the Philippine National Police.
This week Universal announced that it has now won the legal battle completely; the Supreme Court has reversed its order of April 2022, thus denying Okada any authority over TRLEI and Okada Manila.
“With this resolution, this litigation has been concluded,” Universal announced in a press release.
Tokyo-based Universal is has been riding high. In September it defeated a lawsuit launched by prospective partner 26 Capital Acquisition Corporation over a October 2021 agreement which would have seen the Okada Manila casino resort listed on the Nasdaq stock market in New York. 26 Capital Acquisition Chairman and CEO Jason Ader had become aggrieved when Universal delayed and eventually pulled out of the merger agreement, citing alleged misconduct on the part of the Miami-based special purpose acquisition company.
A Delaware court came down firmly on Universal’s side, agreeing that 26 Capital had “engaged in conduct that should not be rewarded” and therefore ruled that Universal was free to terminate the unwanted merger agreement.
In September, 26 Capital announced its own liquidation.
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