Nissan Chairman Ghosn Arrested In Tokyo

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Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn. (AFP pic)TOKYO: Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested in Tokyo for financial misconduct, public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media outlets reported
“The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested Nissan chairman Ghosn on suspicion of violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act,” NHK said
Earlier, AFP reported that the automaker had accused Ghosn of “significant acts of misconduct” including underreporting his salary and said it would move to fire him
In a statement, Nissan said it had been conducting a probe into Ghosn for several months after receiving a whistleblower report and had uncovered misconduct going back several years.The statement came after local media reported that Ghosn was being questioned Monday night by prosecutors in Tokyo and was expected to be arrested on violation of financial regulations including misreporting his income
In its statement, Nissan said it had launched an investigation into both Ghosn and representative director Greg Kelly
“The investigation showed that over many years both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation,” the statement said
“Also, in regards to Ghosn, numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets, and Kelly’s deep involvement has also been confirmed.”The company said it had provided information to Japanese prosecutors and would propose to the board of directors that it “promptly remove Ghosn from his positions” along with Kelly
The astonishing news first emerged early Monday evening, when the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Ghosn was being questioned by prosecutors and was likely to face arrest
Public broadcaster NHK reported that Tokyo prosecutors were raiding Nissan’s headquarters in the city of Yokohama
Renault shares plunged 12% in late-morning trading in Paris on the shock news
“If he is arrested, it’s going to rock the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance as he is the keystone of the alliance,” said Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm
“He is the man of charisma for the alliance. It is likely to have a negative impact on its brand image,” he told AFP
Nicknamed Le Cost Killer, Brazil-born Ghosn, 64, is known for overhauling Renault and Nissan starting in the 1990s
Renault came to the rescue of the then-ailing Japanese automaker in 1999 and parachuted in Ghosn, who set about slashing costs and jobs in a huge corporate overhaul
In 2016, Ghosn also took charge at troubled Mitsubishi after Nissan threw it a lifeline, buying a one-third stake for about US$2.2 billion as it wrestled with a mileage-cheating scandal that hammered sales

Ghosn has a high profile in Japan and is known as a major advocate of the country’s auto sector. He has not yet commented on the allegations. - FMT

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