Makota Okamoto is European head of the Shirayama Shokusan Corporation, the reclusive Japanese property development company that purchased County Hall in 1993. His dispute with Charles Saatchi is only the latest to hit the headlines.

In 1995, he prevented British Legion veterans laying a wreath to commemorate VJ-Day at a memorial inside the building. Asked why, he was reported to have said: "We own the building and we can do what we like with it. Why should I tell you why?"

Mr Okamoto, who is married to a British woman, was accused in 1998 of bombarding his general manager, Lisa-Jane Statton, with sexist and racist comments. She alleged he described British women as "bloody fat pigs" and Diana, Princess of Wales, as "that big-nosed princess". She subsequently withdrew the claims after Shirayama paid an undisclosed sum to settle the case.

He later insisted: "I never said that English women were fat pigs. I never used that word. My wife is 49 and she has quite slim legs." He is understood to have moved to Paris, and could not be contacted in London or France yesterday.