Ghosn re-arrested on fresh allegations

THE RE-ARREST MEANS HE COULD BE DETAINED FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 10 DAYS IN A TOKYO JAIL

TOKYO: Japanese prosecutors arrested Nissan Motor Co. Ltd’s ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn again on Friday on new allegations of making Nissan shoulder $16.6 million in personal investment losses, dashing chances he would be released on bail before Christmas.

Prosecutors also raided Ghosn’s residence in Tokyo on Friday in search of evidence, broadcaster TV Asahi reported.

The latest twist in a saga that has jolted the global auto industry and Nissan’s alliance with France’s Renault SA came a day after a Tokyo court unexpectedly rejected prosecutors’ request to extend Ghosn’s detention. That rejection had raised the possibility that the prominent businessman could go free on bail as early as Friday.

The re-arrest, however, means he could be detained for at least another 10 days in a Tokyo jail, where he has been confined since he was arrested last month on initial allegations of financial misconduct.

The Tokyo prosecutor said the arrest was based on suspicions that around October 2008, Ghosn shifted personal trades to the automaker to make it responsible for 1.85 billion yen ($16.6 million) in appraisal losses, and inflicted damage on Nissan by having it deposit a total of $14.7 million on four occasions between June 2009 and March 2012 into a related bank account.

His lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, was not available for comment. Otsuru has previously declined to return calls about the Ghosn case.

Kyodo news agency said that when the allegation that Ghosn had shifted the paper losses first surfaced in media reports late last month, Otsuru said his client had denied it.

Ghosn had considered the move but did not do so after being told by financial authorities that it would be illegal, Kyodo quoted Otsuru as saying then.