GHOSN RE-ARRESTED

But ex-Nissan chief vows he ‘will not be broken’ by attempt to silence him

PROSECUTORS arrested ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn again yesterday on suspicion of trying to enrich himself at the carmaker’s expense, in a stunning twist for an executive who has called on the French government for help.

The arrest, which outside legal experts described as a highly unusual in Japan for someone who has already been released on bail, marks yet another dramatic turn in the once-feted executive’s fall from grace.

Prosecutors said Ghosn had caused Nissan Motor Co US$5 million (RM20.41 million) in losses over a 2½-year period to July last year, in breach of his legal duties to the company and with the goal of personal gain.

The Kyodo news agency reported that the losses involved the shifting of funds through a dealer in Oman to the account of a company Ghosn effectively owned. The agency did not cite any sources.

“I am innocent. It’s hard, I have to admit it, and I call on the French government to defend me, and to defend my rights as a citizen,” said Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, in an interview aired yesterday with French TV stations TF1 and LCI.

It was not clear where the interview was recorded.

In a statement from a United Statesbased spokesman, Ghosn said the arrest was an “outrageous and arbitrary” attempt to silence him by unidentified people at Nissan.

“Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken,” he said in the statement.

Ghosn’s legal team said prosecutors had confiscated the passport and mobile phone of Ghosn’s wife, as well as documents needed to prepare for his trial.

More than a dozen officials from the prosecutor’s office visited Ghosn’s residence early yesterday and asked him to submit to questioning, said broadcaster NHK.

By late morning yesterday, the media said he had been taken back to the detention centre where he spent 108 days after being first arrested in November.

The arrest came a day after Ghosn pledged on Twitter to hold a news conference on April 11 to “tell the truth” about the allegations against him.

“After being wrongly imprisoned for 108 days, my biggest hope and wish today is for a fair trial,” Ghosn added in the emailed statement.

“I was scheduled to present my story in a press conference next week; by arresting me again, the prosecutors have denied me that opportunity. For now, but I am determined that the truth will come out. I am confident that if tried fairly, I will be vindicated.”

Ghosn faces charges of financial misconduct and aggravated breach of trust over allegedly failing to report around US$82 million in salary and temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books during the financial crisis.

Released on US$9 million bail on March 6, the executive says he is the victim of a boardroom coup.