Ex-Nissan chief charged for underreporting pay
TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors have formally charged Carlos Ghosn with financial misconduct for underreporting his salary and also served a fresh warrant on separate allegations, local media reported on Monday, meaning the tycoon will likely spend Christmas in a cell.
Former Nissan chairman Ghosn, 64, has been in detention since his Nov 19 arrest on suspicion of under-declaring his income by about 5 billion yen ($44.5 million) during 2010-15.
Authorities then rearrested him over separate allegations that he also underreported his income by a further $36 million over the past three years.
Under Japanese law, suspects can be rearrested several times for different allegations, allowing prosecutors to question them for prolonged periods.
Monday was the final day prosecutors could hold Ghosn and close aide Greg Kelly before either charging or rearresting them, and a further arrest could allow them another 22 days of questioning.
In addition to charges against Ghosn, prosecutors also indicted Kelly and Nissan itself, according to local media, as the company submitted the official documents that underreported the income.
Ghosn denies the charges and is in a “combative” frame of mind, according to sources at Renault, the company he still formally leads — even if the French car giant has appointed an interim chairman.
The Japanese firms in the threeway alliance with Renault — Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors — have both sacked the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian as chairman.
Unhappy with the food
The millionaire auto sector star, who attracted some criticism for a perceived lavish lifestyle, is now alone in a spartan cell in a Tokyo detention center, in a tiny room measuring around 5 square meters.
He has reportedly told embassy visitors he is being well treated but has complained of the cold, with Monday’s temperature in the Japanese capital hovering around 5 C.
He spends his time reading books and news reports and is said to be unhappy about the rice-based food.
According to local news agency Kyodo, he has admitted signing documents to defer part of his salary until after retirement but said this amount did not need to be declared as it has not yet been definitively fixed.
A source close to the investigation has said Ghosn and Kelly allegedly put the system in place after a new law came in obliging the highest-paid members of the firm to declare their salary.
Ghosn is suspected of deferring part of his pay to avoid criticism from staff and shareholders that his salary was too generous.
It is unclear if Ghosn can be bailed before a potential trial.