Elections watchdog says it should be illegal to spread misinformation about voting

Canada's chief electoral officer has issued a wide-ranging report on the last two federal elections that calls for action to crack down on hate groups, improved regulation of third parties and new laws to make it illegal to spread disinformation about elections and voting.


© Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press

Canada's chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault has made a number of recommendations to change how elections are run in Canada.

"This report … is the beginning of an important conversation with parliamentarians and Canadians on ways to improve our electoral process," Stéphane Perrault said Tuesday. "It is a critical exercise that we must periodically undertake to ensure the vitality of our democracy in the face of evolving circumstances, challenges and aspirations."

Perrault's report calls for an amendment to the Canada Elections Act to make it illegal to spread information that disrupts an election or undermines its legitimacy.

Specifically, the report says "prohibit a person or entity, including foreign persons and entities, from knowingly making false statements about the voting process, including about voting and counting procedures, in order to disrupt the conduct of the election or to undermine the legitimacy of the election or its results."

The report is not calling for the policing of policy messages from candidates or parties. It says action must be taken now because the continued spread of disinformation could "jeopardize trust in the entire electoral system on which democracies rest."

"To me this is about drawing a line in the sand on a matter of principle," Perrault said. "It is not OK to deliberately undermine our electoral process by spreading information a person knows to be false and to do that for the purpose of undermining the process."

The report calls on online platforms to publish policies explaining how they will address the spread of disinformation "that inaccurately depicts election-related procedures during the election period."

The report also calls for stronger transparency in political messages from political parties, candidates and third parties, arguing there are drawbacks to regulating only those messages defined as advertising when social media and other online platforms are able to spread political messages that do not meet that definition.

Perrault said he wants the rule that requires ads by political actors to identify who authorized the message to be simplified and extended to text messages, YouTube videos and other social media messages that may now be spread anonymously.

All political messages must disclose their authors and tell voters how they can get more information about those behind the messages, the report said


To get there, Perrault recommends that websites operated by political entities — such as political parties, candidates and third parties — be required to link to a searchable registry of paid digital communications to improve transparency.

Policing hate groups

To crack down on hate groups seeking to register as political parties, Perrault wants to allow voters to ask a court to determine whether the primary purpose of an organization seeking to register as a political party is the promotion of hate against an identifiable group.

"There is currently no mechanism in place right now to address this issue," Perrault said. "If there is a hate group that wishes to register right now as a party, it could do so and in so doing would gain access to a number of benefits."

Among those benefits, he said, are access to lists of registered voters, free television air time and tax credits on contributions which hate groups should not enjoy.

Perrault said that voters should challenge such organizations in the courts because it's not appropriate for him or the commissioner of Canada Elections to have a role in choosing which political parties should be registered.

 
Third party financing

In order to ensure that foreign entities are not funding third-party advertisers in an election, Perrault's report says that any third party that claims to be self-funded should prove that it gets no more than 10 per cent of its funding from donations.

Perrault said a distinction should be made between third parties — such as corporate entities and labour unions — that use revenue raised in Canada to fund political communications and smaller third parties that rely partly on donations to survive.

He said that there is no way currently for Canada's chief electoral officer to track where smaller groups are getting their money from, and that's a problem.

"What I am proposing is a mechanism to make sure that only contributions of Canadian citizens or permanent residents would go in terms of financing third parties," he said.

The report also calls for the regulation of "issue-based" communications that do not name a party or candidate but "can reasonably be seen as having the purpose of promoting or opposing a party or candidate during the election and pre-election periods."

The report also calls for a number of other changes, including:

Allowing candidates to register earlier to permit Elections Canada to better manage its communications regulations.

Enhancing the protection of voters' personal information by granting them the right to opt out of receiving electoral communications.

Extending the minimum number of days in a non-fixed election from 36 to 44 days to allow Elections Canada to reduce the number of late ballots.

Allowing voters to register for a special ballot 45 days before voting day.

Permitting special ballots to be marked with just a political party name rather than a candidate name.

Requiring the head of Elections Canada to recommend an election date that does not interfere with religious or cultural days of significance.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Ex-Quebec construction boss Accurso free on bail awaiting appeal before Supreme Court

MONTREAL — A Quebec Court of Appeal judge is allowing ex-construction boss Tony Accurso to remain free on bail while he appeals his fraud conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada.


Ex-Quebec construction boss Accurso

Accurso received a four-year prison term in 2018 in connection with what a Quebec court judge called one of the worst examples of municipal corruption to come before a Canadian court.

His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal last month, and he was ordered to report to prison by June 1.

However, Court of Appeal Justice Manon Savard concluded it would not harm public trust in the justice system if Accurso stayed free during his appeal to the high court.

Accurso would be eligible for release after serving one-sixth of this sentence — eight months — which she says would likely occur before the Supreme Court hears his case.

Accurso must pay $125,000 bail, two other people will pay $50,000 on his behalf and he is not permitted to leave Quebec.

A jury convicted Accurso on five fraud-related charges tied to a kickback scheme that saw companies receive lucrative public contracts in exchange for bribes to elected officials, including Gilles Vaillancourt, the former mayor of Laval, Que.

The kickback and fraud scheme lasted between 1996 and 2010 and was run by Vaillancourt, who pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and received a six-year sentence.

In a separate case in October 2020, Accurso and several companies tied to him were ordered to pay a total of $4.2 million after pleading guilty to tax fraud.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

How are Albertans likely to be Affected by the recent UCP Leadership Review?

Streamed live on Jun 2, 2022



Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs

The United Conservative Party (UCP) members voted by mail-in ballots from April 9 to May 11 whether or not they have confidence in their leader and on May 18, 2022, the result was scheduled to be announced. 

Originally, a special general meeting was planned to be an in-person voting event in Red Deer, but because of soaring attendee numbers, it was decided by the provincial UCP board to move the vote to a mail-in ballot over a five-week period. 

Plenty of questions have surrounded the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney and his UCP government since being elected in 2019 and even before, in 2017, when Kenney won the UCP leadership race ahead of Brian Jean in a contest still being investigated by the RCMP. 

The speaker will look back on the past few years of notable controversies involving Kenney before the leadership review and as well, analyze how the result of such, may affect the UCP, Albertans and Alberta politics.

 Speaker: Dr. Duane Bratt 

Duane Bratt is a political science Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta). He was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA 1992) and Alberta (Ph.D. 1996). He teaches in the area of international relations and Canadian public policy. His primary research interest is in the area of Canadian nuclear policy. 

Recent publications include: co-editor, Orange Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta (University of Calgary Press, 2018), co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas 3rd edition (Oxford University Press, 2015) and author of Canada, the Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012). Current projects include the risk assessment of Canada’s nuclear waste site selection process. 

Duane is also a regular commentator on political events. 

Date and time: Thursday, June 2, 2022 from 12 noon to 1 pm MDT 

In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. You can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming. For further info visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

Bell: Aheer runs for UCP leader, insiders insist they're for change

Rick Bell - CALGARY SUN

She’s in and the political temperature goes up a few more degrees.


© Provided by Calgary Sun

MLA Leela Aheer speaks with media at McDougall Centre in Calgary before a UCP caucus meeting on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The UCP were meeting following Premier Jason Kenney's announcement Wednesday night that he will be resigning as leader.

It will get warmer in the days ahead as more join the fray.

Leela Aheer, the MLA from Chestermere, is expected to announce Tuesday she’s entering the race to replace Premier Jason Kenney as UCP leader and leader of the province.

She knows all about Travis Toews, Kenney’s budget boss, announcing last week he is in the race.

She knows all about the 23 UCP members of the legislature, including several from the premier’s inner circle, backing Toews.

She knows all about the show of strength this past weekend in Calgary where Toews was surrounded with plenty of UCP politicians and other somebodies in the party and they were most enthused.

Aheer isn’t bowled over.

The outspoken MLA, no stranger to being in Kenney’s bad books, says she very much respects Toews as a human being.

But …

“Nothing has changed,” says Aheer, of Toews and his considerable team.

“If there was an agent of change then where were those views when things needed to be changed?”

“When there was an opportunity to fix, to change and alter and take away pain and fear from our people, where was that voice?”

“Where was the standing up for the people when fingers were being wagged at particular groups and organizations?”

“If they’re an agent of change, where was it? Where was it until now? I sure didn’t see it.”

“How can you be an agent of change when you weren’t willing to try and make change when you had the opportunity?”

“There were many, many opportunities to gracefully and with compelling argument make change whilst we were in the previous situation and that did not happen.”

For Aheer, a former cabinet minister punted by Kenney because she took on the big guy, change requires empathy.

“Empathy has not been there. Had we led with that we might be in a very different discussion today.”

Aheer adds she spoke up because things weren’t fixed internally and “you know that corruption is happening.”

Then why is the group who didn’t utter a peep before the May 18 leadership vote now casting themselves as agents of change?

“I think because that’s the only way the people of Alberta could accept somebody in leadership, particularly coming from the premier’s team. But I think the average Albertan will see it is too little too late for that.”

Toews plainly does not agree. In Calgary his pitch was not meant to set the world on fire and it didn’t.

He cast himself as the stable and responsible candidate who was a straight shooter and didn’t like political drama.


© Ed Kaiser/Postmedia

UCP leader hopeful Travis Toews during a news conference in Edmonton.

Toews did mention leading with humility and listening and did point out how some Albertans were wrongly characterized and needed to be heard and needed to have a voice.

He took questions from newshounds.

He said he and the premier were very different people and he was not a career politician .

He didn’t elaborate much further.

He was asked by one newshound, not yours truly, about whether having so many of the premier’s inner circle on board was a help or a hindrance, baggage he had to carry.

He didn’t really take that one head-on.

But Toews does believe in a code of conduct for government politicians and he pledges that code would be enforced.

He also talked a lot about unity among conservatives.

Just for the record, your scribbler was treated very well, unlike in those days where the survival of the premier was at stake.

More than a few in the Toews crowd even acknowledged much of the criticism of the premier was on the mark.

Some may have believed it for some time but didn’t have the guts to come forward.

Maybe, for others, when push came to shove they could finally see the writing on the wall.

There was no advantage in defending an attitude in government clearly turning off most Albertans.

The folks at the Toews love-in insisted their guy would be different. He would be change. Just you wait and see.

We will wait and see. It is a long campaign.

Meanwhile, Aheer says her voice will be heard.

She makes a statement all leadership hopefuls ignore at their peril.

When it was ignored by the PCs in 2015 their one-party rule going back to 1971 ended.

“We’re here because there is a need to change the status quo. Arrogance will never win. Albertans will never, ever be able to be ruled by arrogance.”

rbell@postmedia.com

Former minister Leela Aheer joins UCP leadership race

UCP MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore and former culture, multiculturalism and status of women minister Leela Aheer has joined the race to become UCP leader and replace Premier Jason Kenney.


Chestermere-Rocky View MLA Leela Aheer speaks with media at McDougall Centre in Calgary before a UCP caucus meeting on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The UCP were meeting following Premier Jason Kenney's announcement Wednesday night that he will be resigning as leader. Gavin Young/Postmedia

Ashley Joannou - Edmonton Journal

Aheer made the announcement Tuesday morning on Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen. She said she wants to give back to the province.

“The entire leadership race for me is about regaining Albertans’ trust. We owe that to people. We owe them the opportunity to be able to get in front of them and explain to them who we are, and to be able to be truthful about the mistakes that have been made, because there’s been plenty. I think that happens with any party,” she said.

Aheer was first elected under the Wildrose Party banner in 2015. After winning a second term in 2019, this time with the newly-created United Conservative Party, she was named Alberta’s minister of culture, multiculturalism, and status of women.

Aheer was shuffled out of her cabinet post in 2021 not long after openly criticizing Kenney for a dinner he held on a patio linked to a government office space in Edmonton known as the Sky Palace which violated COVID-19 restrictions.


When asked Tuesday about the government’s strained relationship with health care workers Aheer said Alberta needs to increase spaces in universities, attract international professionals and that Alberta’s doctors and nurses are owed a “huge apology.”

“I think I’ve spent the last two years talking to doctors and nurses and frontline workers across the province just explaining my deep gratitude because of the way that we proceeded and how they felt as a result of the direction that we have gone,” she said.

“There’s not enough apology in the world. There’s not enough that we can say in order for those incredible people that understand how grateful we are.”

Aheer joins a leadership race that already includes former UCP finance minister Travis Toews, independent MLA for Central Peace-Notley Todd Loewen, former Wildrose Party leaders Danielle Smith and Brian Jean, and Amisk Mayor Bill Rock.

The party has yet to release details of how the leadership race will run or when election day will be.

More to come
ajoannou@postmedia.com
twitter.com/ashleyjoannou

Jamil Jivani: Corporations have more freedom than their employees

In this NP Comment video, Jamil Jivani discusses how many corporations display rainbow logos during Pride month in the West, but not in countries such as Saudi Arabia. Watch the full video below and subscribe to the Post’s YouTube channel here .

© Provided by National Post

THE PEOPLE VS UCP

Council in Alberta mountain town to appeal development order by provincial tribunal


CANMORE, Alta. — Town council in a popular Alberta mountain community will appeal a decision by a provincial tribunal to allow two major developments to proceed.



The proposed Three Sisters Village and Smith Creek projects in Canmore, west of Calgary, would double the town's population in the coming decades.

The two proposals include about 80 per cent of the town's remaining developable land.

Council rejected both proposals last year, but the Land and Property Rights Tribunal of Alberta ruled in May that the two developments could go ahead.

It ordered the town to adopt both the Three Sisters and Smith Creek proposals.

Council decided today it would appeal the decision to the Alberta Court of Appeal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2022.

B.C. informal family court promising for domestic violence victims: advocates


KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A family court pilot project in British Columbia may be a promising solution for domestic violence victims trying to navigate a confusing and intimidating legal system, advocates say.



An "informal" trial process is being tested as part of new court rules meant to resolve legal matters more quickly. The pilot project, developed by the Ministry of Attorney General and B.C.'s provincial court, started in Kamloops last month.

Under the model, lawyers aren’t necessary. Each party explains their side and the judge takes a direct role to control and manage the trial. The informal trial is voluntary and will only be used if all parties in the case and the judge agree.

The rollout of the project also means it can be assessed before being expanded, said River Shannon, a staff lawyer for the YWCA of Metro Vancouver.

"There are a lot of aspects to the pilot that I think really, really work. I think almost every aspect of this pilot is very much worth investigating and assessing, and if it's positive, I would personally be really excited to see it rolled out to more registries," Shannon said.

The provincial court said in a release the aim is to help people who don't have a lawyer use the legal system by setting aside strict court and evidence rules and just allow them to present their case "more naturally."

The parties will usually be the only witnesses and the judge will be the only person who questions them. Lawyers may, however, suggest questions for the judge to ask.

"It has certain features of a traditional court process that I think are protective for survivors," Shannon said.

Those include a court record and a judge who assesses evidence and acts as both an arbiter and questioner, and it allows for an appeal process, Shannon said.

The ministrysaid the project will take about two years to adequately test and "collect meaningful data."

"The pilot is being monitored by the project team on an ongoing basis and evaluation planning is underway," it said in an emailed statement.


When asked for comment from the chief judge, the court referred to its original statement, but added the Kamloops location was chosen based on several factors including "volume of cases and available resources in provincial court locations."

Kathleen Kendall, a family duty counsel lawyer in Kamloops, said she was consulted before the start of the pilot.

"I think it's really important for the judges to emphasize to people that this is voluntary, that it's only going to be (used) if you consent to it," she said. "It's going to be a more open process and I think that can work well for self-represented people."

Another project operating from the same family court rules has been criticized by some advocates.

The mediation aspect of the Early Resolution Model, currently operating in Victoria and Surrey, risks repeating the same power imbalances that exist within abusive relationships, said agencies that support people transitioning out of relationships with domestic violence.

Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women Support Services, said the Kamloops family court project is a more promising solutionto addressing the needs of victims of intimate partner violence.

“I appreciate (the province) is trying different things, and this is closer to what we would want to see, not what they're doing in Victoria and Surrey, when it comes to violence," she said.

MacDougall said research has found that mediation in legal proceedings involving victims of intimate partner violence "should not be used and should not be suggested."

"Rather, we believe that a victim should have the benefit of an advocate, as well as a lawyer," she said.

MacDougall said the most important aspect to the informal court model will be ensuring judges are trained in intimate partner violence and are willing to hear evidence about abuse.

“The devil's in the details, but so far it's looking like this is a better practice," she said.

The statement from the Ministry of the Attorney General said provincial court judges attend 2 1/2-day education programs twice a year for training on subjects including intimate partner violence and mental health issues.

Shannon agreed the informal court process seems to address most of the complaints from victims' advocates about dispute resolution.

"I tend to be a pessimist but I'm really optimistic about this pilot, and I would like for British Columbians to be excited about it and watching it because it might really offer a realistic solution, especially to low-income or self-represented folks moving through the family system."

— By Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Ex-Afghan president likely did not flee Afghanistan with millions, report finds

Eleanor Watson - Yesterday

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his senior advisers likely fled Afghanistan without millions that went missing during the Taliban takeover, contrary to rumors, an oversight report has found. Since the government's records are now controlled by the Taliban, it might be hard to find the definitive culprit.

The interim report released by the special Inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction concluded that during the collapse of the government last summer, Ghani and his advisers may have taken closer to $500,000 as they left the country by helicopter, but the amount did not exceed $1 million, the report found.

This is far less than the $5 million that disappeared from the presidential palace and the estimated tens of millions that went missing from the National Directorate of Security vault during the chaos of the Taliban takeover.

The findings are in an interim report on the theft of funds from Afghanistan, and a final report is expected after the inspector general conducts more interviews. However, the interim report stated it would be difficult to determine who stole the millions since the government's records and security surveillance are now in the hands of the Taliban.


Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani makes brief remarks during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, in the Oval Office at the White House June 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. / Credit: Pete Marovich / Getty Images

After more than 30 interviews with former Afghan officials, the inspector general ruled out in the interim report Ghani as the culprit, since he and his advisers were focused on evacuating quickly — and with more people than the helicopters were intended to carry.

The Russian Embassy in Kabul accused Ghani and his adviser of taking $169 million with them when they flew from Afghanistan. The inspector general found this was unlikely, due to the space and weight the cash would occupy.


The report assessed that $169 million in hundred dollar bills stacked end to end "would be somewhat larger than a standard American three seater couch," and would weigh nearly two tons.

The presidential helicopters were too overloaded with passengers and fuel to have made room for additional cargo, especially cargo weighing two tons, according to the interim report.

As the Taliban quickly closed in on Kabul, Ghani's team focused on escaping with their lives.

The decision to flee was so abrupt that Ghani was barefoot, requiring an official to look for his shoes, and Ghani didn't even have time to find his passport before evacuating.

Ghani had arranged for his wife, former first lady Rula Ghani, to flee the country with senior officials, but as the security team was making arrangements, the situation for the president deteriorated. The head of the presidential security team warned the national security adviser that if the helicopters left Ghani behind, "the president would be killed," according to the interim report.

On Saturday, Aug. 14, Ghani delivered a video address from the presidential palace expressing his belief that the Taliban advance could be stopped, but by the end of the next day, he had fled, and videos of the Taliban inside the presidential palace were broadcast widely.

Ghani's Facebook shared a post Aug. 15, 2021, after he had already fled, that said in part, "Taliban had made it clear that they are ready to attack Kabul and the people of Kabul to remove me. To avoid a flood of bloodshed, I decided best to get out. Taliban won the judgment of sword and gun and now they are responsible for protecting the honor, wealth and self."

COMMODITY FETISH

Rare inlaid Stradivari violin could fetch $11 million at auction

Reuters - Yesterday 

A rare 1679 violin made by renowned Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari is headed for auction next month where it could fetch up to $11 million.

The “Hellier” Stradivarius “is the finest inlaid violin ever made by… Stradivari and one of the finest Stradivarius instruments in existence,” said auction house Christie’s which is offering the instrument as the top lot in its July 7 “The Exceptional Sale”.

Engraved with ivory diamonds and finished with a golden varnish, the violin has a price estimate of 6-9 million pounds ($7.54-11.31 million).

Stradivari kept the instrument for 55 years, selling it in 1734 for 40 pounds to Samuel Hellier of Wombourne, England.


Rare inlaid Stradivari violin could fetch $11 million at auctionA close up of the violin's inlay and its golden varnish. - Henry Nicholls/Reuters

“I expect a lot of interest for such an instrument because it is so rare that it comes out of a museum,” violin expert and Christie’s consultant Florian Leonhard told Reuters.

“When can you touch a violin like this and own it? It’s incredible.”

Stradivari’s violins are known for their exquisite craftsmanship. They cost between $8 million and $20 million, according to Leonhard.

“Of the roughly 1,100 instruments Stradivari made over the course of his career, only around a dozen are embellished with decoration, and this specimen is regarded by the Smithsonian curators as the best-preserved extant example,” Christie’s said in a statement.


Rare inlaid Stradivari violin could fetch $11 million at auctionA close-up of the front of the "Hellier' Stradivarius, held by violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason. - Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason played the instrument at a preview and described it as “beautiful”.

“These kinds of violins are often compared to sports cars, you have to firstly learn how to drive them, but once you learn how to maneuver it’s incredibly rewarding,” he said.

Top image caption: Violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason plays the rare ‘Hellier’ violin.

Ousted board of Philippine casino sues Japanese tycoon Okada after resort seized

Reuters - Yesterday 

The ousted board of the Philippines’ biggest casino said on Monday it is suing Japanese tycoon Kazuo Okada and his partners, accusing them of coercion and other misconduct in what it said was a “violent and illegal” seizure of the gambling resort last week.

In a dramatic turn of events in a long-running dispute over control of Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment which is owned by Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp, Okada’s camp took physical control of the $3.3 billion casino known as Okada Manila on May 31 with the help of private security guards and local police.

The move came after the Philippines’ Supreme Court in April issued a “status quo ante order,” reinstating Okada, who had been ousted in 2017, as CEO of the casino. That followed a decision by the country’s Court of Appeals in January to dismiss an embezzlement charge against Okada and an associate.

The deposed board of Tiger Resorts appealed the Supreme Court’s decision in April and its legal counsel said on Monday that there was nothing in the court’s decision that authorized Okada’s camp to seize physical control or to create a new board. It is also seeking clarification from the Supreme Court about its order.

Okada’s group used “brute force and intimidation” in taking over the property on May 31, Michiaki Satate, co-vice chairman of the ousted Tiger Resort board, told a news conference.

“At this moment, it is an illegitimate board and set of officers who are running the business,” Satate said, adding that the casino operator’s parent company would not honor any business dealings conducted by the new board.

Universal, which has seen its shares slide 10% since the takeover, has also called the seizure of the casino an “illegal occupation.”

The lawsuit names as defendants Okada, who was not physically present during the takeover, as well his partners Antonio Cojuangco and Dindo Espeleta and the private security guard company they employed.

They are accused of forcibly removing Universal director Hajime Tokuda from the casino premises and taking him to an area near his home in what the ousted board has called a kidnapping. They are also accused of harming other company officers in grievances that range from “grave coercion” and “unjust vexation.”

Okada, currently in Japan, on Monday remotely addressed the casino’s management in a town hall meeting, committing to the success of the property and greater interaction with the new board.

All charges against Okada and his group “are pure fabrication and have no legal basis whatsoever,” Vincent Lim, spokesperson for Okada Manila’s current management, told Reuters in a statement.

No violent incident occurred during the takeover and further decisions by the Supreme Court could prompt the competing group to stop their accusations, Lim said.

Officials from the Philippine gaming regulator were present at the takeover to monitor the event. The regulator said, however, it wanted to emphasize its neutrality in the dispute as the matter is still before the court.

Okada was also ousted from Universal’s board in 2017, with directors accusing him of misappropriating $20 million in funds, which he has denied.

The 44-hectare (108-acre) Okada Manila started operations late in 2016.

With 993 suites and villas, 500 table games and 3,000 electronic gaming machines, it is the biggest of four multi-billion dollar casino-resorts operating in the capital of the Philippines, which has one of Asia’s most freewheeling gaming industries.