Wynn Macau board ousts Japanese tycoon over Pagcor bribes

HONG KONG—The board of casino operator Wynn Macau on Friday dumped Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada as a director over what it called “unacceptable conduct” involving alleged corruption in the Philippines.

The subsidiary of US-based Wynn Resorts said the board resolved to remove Okada as a non-executive director “with immediate effect”, amid a bitter feud between the Japanese businessman and one-time partner Steve Wynn.

The company issued a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange saying it felt “obliged” to sack Okada after an internal Wynn Resorts investigation accused him of bribing Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chiefs in his bid to build a rival gaming resort in Manila.

Wynn Resorts said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in a Las Vegas district court that Okada, Japan’s pachinko king, went behind the company’s back to build a stake in Asian gaming for his own Universal Entertainment group.

Wynn also accused Okada of spending more than $110,000 to curry favor with Pagcor chairman Cristino Naguiat, Jr.  and his predecessor Efraim Genuino in apparent violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, jeopardizing Wynn’s own reputation in the process.

The suit alleged that Okada had sought a gaming license in the Philippines and made the payments despite Wynn’s telling him not to do so.

The Wynn Resorts board voted Sunday to expel Okada and to redeem his 24 million shares in the group, held through a Universal subsidiary.