Representatives of controversial Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada have filed a request with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to deny a block sale for the backdoor listing of Tiger Resort Asia Limited, the operating entity of Okada Manila.
Okada’s lawyers submitted a letter last Friday 11 January 2019, arguing that the block sale and backdoor listing through Asiabest Group International Inc (ABG) is “inconsistent with the PSE’s objective to protect the investing public.”
The letter also questions the authority of current Universal Entertainment President and CEO Jun Fujimoto to make such decisions on behalf of the company after Okada was kicked off the board last year amid allegations of fraud. He was also removed from the boards of Tiger and of Okada Holdings Inc.
“The Exchange should disapprove the application for the block sale and disallow the backdoor listing because there exists, at bare minimum, a serious issue as to whether Fujimoto et. al. are legitimate directors/officers of Tiger, and the rest of the Okada Companies, that can act for and on behalf of said Companies,” Okada’s counsel said.
Central to Okada’s claim is that Tiger is unsuitable to be listed with the exchange while his legal challenges over control of Okada Holdings, Universal and subsidiaries remain unresolved.
“The lack of integrity of Fujimoto et. al. is clear when you consider that most of them were trusted protégés and aides of Mr Okada before they turned his children against him with lies and robbed the man of the fruits of his labor,” the letter said.