The son of casino mogul Kazuo Okada has testified that he moved for the removal of his father from their family-owned company merely on suspicion of impropriety and not based on concrete evidence.
Tomohiro Okada made this admission when he testified in the case he filed in Tokyo against his sister Hiromi to validate the May 2017 Trust Agreement between the two of them, in response to a question raised on his father’s illegal removal from the family-owned Okada Holdings Limited.
“There was nothing like evidence, and while there were no specifics, I was hearing talk about things that were very suspicious,” said the younger Okada, when asked about his knowledge of his father’s alleged improprieties.
“There were various suspicious stories, though not in the sense of being specific,” he added.
When asked if the stories were just suspicions, the younger Okada replied “yes, of course.”
During his testimony, Tomohiro also admitted that he prepared the share trust agreements dated March 2 and May 23, 2017 for his sister Hiromi, which were also based on baseless claims of impropriety against his father.
“I said that there was the possibility that he was doing so,” said Tomohiro, who was also accused of coercing and deceiving his sister into signing the two share trust agreements.
When she took the witness stand, Hiromi Okada claimed that Tomohiro took advantage of her weak emotional state to trick her into signing contracts that were disadvantageous to her and her father.
According to Hiromi, Tomohiro did not explain to her the contents of the documents that she signed, contrary to the claim of her brother.
“On that day [March 2, 2017], I was going overseas again the following day, so I was really tired. There was no explanation. In a few minutes I signed them and it was over,” said Hiromi, who reconciled with her father in August 2017.
Hiromi has filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong against Tomohiro and Okada Holdings to have the Trust Agreement she entered into nullified.
If the court favors Hiromi’s lawsuit, Kazuo Okada will regain majority control of his holdings, which could lead to taking back control of his casino business.
In earlier statements, the casino mogul claimed that he was betrayed by some people whom he bestowed his trust and confidence, adding they even used his children to benefit from their grand scheme.
Okada claimed that he was illegally removed as director of Okada Holdings Ltd., 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 owns Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of Okada Manila.”‹