Okada vows to take back company unlawfully taken from him

Kazuo Okada. AP FILE PHOTO

Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada said he will reclaim the company unlawfully taken from him.

“I would say my control was fraudulently taken away from me and I am now doing everything in my power to take it back,” Okada said in a statement on Thursday issued through his lawyers led by Atty. Rean Balisi.

The tycoon is currently in Hong Kong facing another legal battle.

“I have a belief that justice wins in the end. I believe in justice, and this belief drives me to continue,” he said.

This is the first time Okada has made a statement about his removal as director of Okada Holdings Ltd.

He said he was betrayed by the people he trusted.

Okada Holdings Ltd. is the holding company for all Universal Entertainment Corporation (UEC) shares owned by members of Okada’s family. Okada Holdings Ltd. controls 69 percent of UEC, which through Tiger Resorts Asia Ltd. (TRAL), owns Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of Okada Manila.

He also reached out to his son, Tomohiro, saying that like him, “he is also a victim.”

In his statement, he told his son to “serve the interest of his family, rather than unscrupulous businessmen who have nothing to lose but everything to gain from the situation.”

He said his son should realize that if the controversies hounding the company will continue, its value will keep going down.

Recently, the criminal complaint against Okada has been dismissed by the Parañaque and Makati Prosecutors Office for lack of probable cause.