Nissan shareholders vote out Ghosn, Kelly
TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co shareholders ousted erstwhile boss Carlos Ghosn as a director yesterday, formally severing his ties with the Japanese carmaker he rescued from near-bankruptcy two decades ago and from which he is now accused of siphoning funds.
Shareholders gathered for an extraordinary meeting just days after Ghosn’s latest arrest, here, expressing bafflement and concern about growing financial misconduct allegations. Ghosn has denied all charges against him and said he was the victim of a boardroom coup.
Prosecutors last week took the highly unusual step of re-arresting Ghosn — who had been out on a US$9 million (RM36.89 million) bail — returning him to the detention centre, here, where he had previously spent more than 100 days.
Under the latest allegations, he is suspected of trying to enrich himself to the tune of US$5 million at the carmaker’s expense.
“I can’t comprehend how this could have happened, despite having auditors,” said Setsuko Shibata, a retired homemaker who said her family had held Nissan shares for decades.
The shareholders voted to remove both Ghosn and co-accused Greg Kelly from Nissan’s board of directors. Kelly has also denied all charges against him.
They also voted in Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as a director, an expected move that was widely seen as assuaging concern about the future of the Nissan-Renault carmaking alliance engineered by Ghosn.
Saikawa said Nissan might claim damages against Ghosn, and that he would work to stabilise the company before standing down as chief executive.
“This is not an issue we can fix overnight,” Saikawa told shareholders. “We need to fulfil the task (of improving governance) and prepare the company for our next steps, and then pass the leadership baton.”