MACAU—Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn ousted his former friend and billionaire partner Kazuo Okada from the board of his Wynn Macau casino for “unacceptable conduct” involving alleged corruption in the Philippines.
A board decision to unseat Okada was effective immediately, the company said.
“The board determined that it was obligated to remove Mr. Okada as a nonexecutive director given the unacceptable conduct by Mr. Okada, his employees and associates detailed in the independent report,” it said, referring to an internal investigation which accused him of bribing Philippine regulators in his bid to build a rival gaming resort in Manila.
Wynn Resorts said earlier this week it forcibly redeemed Okada’s nearly 20-percent stake in the company, adding the internal investigation by former FBI director Louis Freeh revealed Okada, chair of slot and pachinko gaming firm Universal Entertainment Corp., and associates violated US anticorruption laws.
Okada, an engineer by training who helped bankroll Wynn’s $14-billion gaming empire, remains on the board as member of parent Wynn Resorts as it can’t remove the Japanese businessman without first convening a special shareholders’ meeting, a person with knowledge of the meeting told Reuters this week.
The nine-person board of Wynn Macau includes five members with ties to Wynn.
When falling-out began
The public falling-out between the two self-made tycoons was triggered last month when Okada filed a suit against Wynn for blocking access to financial documents related to a $135-million donation by Wynn Resorts to the University of Macau.
Each now claims the other made improper payments to foreign gaming regulators to win favor in their respective Macau and Philippine markets, and the acrimony has attracted the attention of legal regulators, investors and analysts worldwide.
Wynn, the Vegas showman known for building high-end properties such as Bellagio and Mirage, has maintained that Okada went against a board decision to pursue a property in the Philippines, making him a direct competitor.
Okada is seeking to file a suit in Las Vegas for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to protect the interests of his subsidiary, Aruze USA Inc., in Wynn Resorts and to prevent the redemption of its shares.
Estimated to be worth $2.1 billion by Forbes magazine in 2011, Okada made his riches in pachinko—a uniquely Asian game that mixes slot-machine-style gambling with pinball, and which rakes in about 20 trillion yen ($250 billion) annually.
A second court hearing on Okada’s lawsuit against Wynn, originally scheduled for Thursday, was delayed until Mar. 8. No reason was given for the change.
Las Vegas lawsuit
Wynn Resorts said in a lawsuit filed in a Las Vegas district court that Okada went behind the company’s back to secure a stake in Asia’s booming gaming industry for his Universal Entertainment group.
It said Okada had lavished more than $110,000 on Philippine officials in apparent violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The Wynn Resorts board voted on Sunday to expel Okada as a director and to redeem his 19.7-percent stake in the group at a severe discount. Okada is reportedly trying to block the $1.9-billion buyback.
The Japanese tycoon has defended himself against the allegations, saying gifts are a regular part of doing business in Asia, especially in the gaming industry. With a report from Reuters