Criminal Complaint Against Wynn

From Libby Mitchell

http://www.lvrj.com/business/universal-files-criminal-complaint-against-wynn-in-philippines-183376621.html

A bit of interesting trivia but...? Wynn Resorts donated $135 million to Macau University Development Foundation? Guess where Wynn will commission gambling research in future lol?

Of course the rest of the article also makes us wonder how come gambling companies always cry "We can't afford it"?...Well they sure can, for court cases it seems!

Universal files criminal complaint against Wynn in Philippines

Cathleen Allison/The Associated Press File Photo

Steve Wynn, right, talks with business partner Kazuo Okada during a 2004 Gaming Commission hearing in Carson City. Okada's Universal Entertainment Corp. has filed a criminal complaint in the Philippines against Wynn.

 

By Chris Sieroty
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Dec. 13, 2012 | 9:41 a.m.

Universal Entertainment Corp. said Thursday it had filed a criminal complaint in the Philippines against Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn, accusing the Las Vegas-based casino developer of libel over allegations of improper payments.

In a statement, Universal said it had filed the complaint through Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary in the Philippines. The company has been granted a provisional gaming license to build a $2.3 billion casino on Manila Bay.

Kazuo Okada is chairman of Tokyo-based Universal, which also owns Aruze USA, a slot machine manufacturer licensed in Nevada since 2004.

Wynn Resorts dismissed Okada's libel suit as "baseless."

"This ridiculous and spurious action is just the latest baseless threat in Mr. Okada's increasingly desperate campaign to divert public attention from his deepening legal troubles in multiple jurisdictions," Wynn Resorts said in a statement Thursday.

Universal's complaint relates to allegations made in an internal report conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh. The 47-page Freeh Report alleged that Universal had violated U.S. anti-corruption laws through payments it had made to gaming regulators in the Philippines.

The report led to Wynn Resorts in February seizing Okada's nearly 20 percent stake in the gaming company.

Okada and Aruze USA invested $260 million in November 2000 for a 50 percent stake in Valvino Lamore LLC, the predecessor to Wynn Resorts. Earlier this year, Okada was removed as a director of Wynn Macau Ltd., a Macau subsidiary of Wynn Resorts, but he remains a director on the Wynn Resorts board of directors.

The complaint is another twist in the nearly yearlong dispute between the two former business partners. Both Wynn and Okada have sued each other in Nevada, and Okada filed a $143 million defamation lawsuit in Japan.

The lawsuit filed in August in Tokyo claims Wynn Resorts and Wynn damaged Okada's image, cost him potential business and caused Universal Entertainment stock to drop.

"The (FBI) investigation was clearly an afterthought and was commissioned for the purpose of providing justification for the baseless findings of the Compliance Committee," Universal said in a statement.

Universal said Okada was removed as a Wynn Resorts shareholder because he objected to the company's $135 million donation to the University of Macau Development Foundation, which was announced last year.

Shares of Wynn Resorts gained 76 cents, or 0.67 percent, to close Thursday at $114.22.

While Okada and Wynn feud, Universal confirmed Thursday it had signed a preliminary agreement with Robinsons Land Corp. to partner in its Manila casino project.

The Philippines has said it will cancel Okada's license if the bribery charges are proven.

The final contract will be signed Jan. 13, according to Universal. Robinsons Land will be in charge of the development of commercial facilities, hotels and housing for the project.

Okada originally approached Wynn Resorts about a partnership in the Philippines, an offer the gaming company turned down.

Separately on Thursday, Wynn Resorts announced in a statement it is streamlining its board of directors and increasing the percentage of independent directors as it pursues a growth strategy to expand into new jurisdictions.

The company, which had a 12-member board including seven independent directors, has reduced the Board to nine members, including six independent directors, it said in a statement

In the statement, Wynn Resorts also announced it is calling a special meeting of stockholders to vote on a proposal to remove Okada as a director.
 

Philippines fixer paid $30 million by Okada's Universal

Exclusive: Philippines fixer paid $30 million by Okada's Universal - sources

Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada attends the opening ceremony of his dining complex in Hong Kong (Bobby Yip Reuters, REUTERS / May 15, 2012)

 

Nathan Layne and Joseph Menn Reuters

12:47 a.m. CST, November 30, 2012

TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada's Universal Entertainment funneled at least $30 million to an ex-consultant for the Philippines gaming authority who is now at the center of a bribery investigation, according to sources and company records.

The sum is six times the amount initially confirmed by Reuters and could, if found to be bribery, result in Okada being stripped of his firm's casino license in the Philippines and also jeopardize his gaming license in Las Vegas.

A Hong Kong firm established by Okada's Universal sent the money to Manila-based consultant Rodolfo Soriano in a series of payments in the first half of 2010, according to a review of company records and interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees and people familiar with the investigation.

Soriano, who has close ties to key members of the administration of former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, received the payments as Universal was lobbying for tax and other government concessions to boost the profitability of a $2 billion casino it was developing on Manila Bay.

Soriano is now under investigation by the Philippine Department of Justice which has created an inquiry panel on the payments with a target to submit findings within the next month.

Universal, a Tokyo-based maker of gaming machines majority owned by an Okada family trust, had no comment through its lawyer, Yuki Arai. Soriano could not be reached for comment.

In addition to the investigation in the Philippines, the Universal payments are being probed by U.S. gaming regulators, with the Nevada Gaming Control Board likely to call the 70-year-old billionaire to give evidence at a closed-door investigative hearing, people familiar with the matter said.

Soriano's powerful connections included Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel, with whom he had travelled to Las Vegas in 2009.

Soriano was an early partner in Okada's Philippine project, and Universal documents describe him as the "personal secretary" to Efraim Genuino, former head of gambling regulator the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

Jose Miguel Arroyo, a lawyer by training, could not be reached for comment. His spokesman, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, said he was unaware of any business dealings between Jose Miguel Arroyo and Soriano. "We are denying reports linking Attorney Arroyo to that bribery case," Topacio said.

Genuino's lawyers did not respond to calls seeking comment. PAGCOR has said it has no knowledge of the Soriano payments but is cooperating with the Philippine bribery investigation.

The Universal payments to Soriano in 2010 were described at a company meeting as a "completion bonus" for his help in clearing remaining hurdles for the casino, including an exemption from corporate tax and foreign ownership restrictions, people involved in the project said.

Philippine authorities have already threatened to strip Okada's operating company of its casino license if investigators find evidence of bribery. Nevada regulators could also impose sanctions, including a suspension of Okada's Las Vegas license.

Either outcome would represent a major setback for Okada, who has vowed to bounce back from a costly legal fight with American casino magnate Steve Wynn to turn Universal into Asia's leading operator of high-end casino resorts.

In the United States, the FBI has also taken statements from those involved in the Soriano payments, according to people familiar with that inquiry. The bureau declined to comment on the state of its inquiry.

LUCRATIVE CONCESSIONS

The Nevada Gaming Control Board's investigation has been underway since at least August and is gathering momentum.

"We are continuing our work," board chairman A.G. Burnett said, declining to comment on the agency's next moves or the likely conclusion of its investigation. "We're about in the middle stage of our investigation."

Hearings could help the board's three-member investigative panel decide whether to bring a formal complaint against Okada or his company, the people familiar with the investigation said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-casinos-philippines-universalbre8at0a7-20121129,0,4542468.story