Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada hit with second lawsuit

In Hong Kong, gaming machine manufacturer Universal Entertainment Corporation has reportedly announced that its Tiger Resort Asia Limited casino-operating subsidiary has filed a lawsuit against Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada (pictured) over alleged misuses of company funds.

According to a report from GGRAsia, Tokyo-headquartered Universal Entertainment Corporation, which is a manufacturer of pachinko, slot machine and arcade games, filed a lawsuit of its own against septuagenarian Okada via a Japanese court in November but is now additionally asking the Hong Kong High Court to award Tiger Resort Asia Limited with damages totaling just over $17.4 million.

GGRAsia reported that Okada previously served as Chairman for Universal Entertainment Corporation as well as Hong Kong-based Tiger Resort Asia Limited but was removed in June. The latter is the operator of the giant Okada Manila integrated casino resort in the Philippines and its lawsuit purportedly states that its former boss had sanctioned a corporate loan in March of 2015 worth over $17 million to an outside entity known as Goldluck Tech Limited ‘without requesting any collateral and without imposing any interest’.

The Hong Kong lawsuit, which moreover names Okada Holdings Limited and Goldluck Tech Limited as well as a representative known as Li Jian as defendants, further reportedly asserts that some $15.3 million of this loan amount remains outstanding and that Tiger Resort Asia Limited had suffered due to Okada’s ‘negligence of duty as a board member of the company’.

GGRAsia reported that the lawsuit from Tiger Resort Asia Limited moreover contends that May of 2015 saw Okada violate company procedures by ordering one of its senior employees to issue him with a corporate check worth just over $2 million. It purportedly alleges that the businessman took this action ‘in order to seek his personal gain’ and that he had signed the check before absconding with its funds.

“In accordance with the development of the present case, any matters that require disclosure will be promptly notified,” read a statement (pdf) from Universal Entertainment Corporation.