Nissan chairman Ghosn arrested for misconduct
tokyo — Nissan Motor Co’s high-flying chairman Carlos Ghosn is to be dismissed after the company said an internal investigation found he under-reported his income by millions of dollars and engaged in other “significant misconduct”.
The Japanese broadcaster NHK said Ghosn was arrested on Monday after he voluntarily submitted to questioning by Tokyo prosecutors. The prosecutors’ office did not confirm that.
Ghosn, 64, also allegedly engaged in personal use of company assets, it said.
Nissan said in a statement that its CEO Hiroto Saikawa would propose to its board that Ghosn and Kelly both be removed from their posts. Ghosn signed a contract earlier this year that would have run through 2022. —
tokyo — Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn is facing dismissal after his reported arrest in Japan over allegations of financial misconduct, the firm’s CEO said on Monday, in a shocking fall from grace for one of the world’s best-known businessmen.
The Japanese automaker’s CEO Hiroto Saikawa told journalists the Nissan board would meet on Thursday to discuss firing Ghosn, who was reportedly questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income.
“I will call a board meeting to make a proposal to remove him from the position of chairmanship and approve it,” Saikawa told a news conference.
Saikawa said he believed that Ghosn and Nissan’s Representative Director Greg Kelly were both under arrest, as local media earlier reported.
“These two gentleman are arrested this evening, that’s what I understand,” said Saikawa.
Ghosn’s detention sent shockwaves through the auto industry, where he is a towering figure who is credited with turning around several major manufacturers and leads an alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi.
Nissan’s CEO insisted the arrest would not affect the alliance, as French President Emmanuel Macron warned Paris would be “extremely vigilant” about the stability of Renault and the three-firm alliance after Ghosn’s arrest. France owns a 15 per cent stake in Renault.
“The partnership among the three entities will not be affected by this event, rather we will closely work together with all the partners to contain any possible confusion,” said Saikawa. Saikawa said that too much power had been concentrated in one executive.
In an earlier statement, Nissan said it had begun investigating Ghosn and Kelly after receiving a whistleblower report and had uncovered misconduct going back several years. Saikawa added the internal investigation was ongoing and that he hoped the issue would not have an impact on Nissan’s brand.
The Tokyo prosecutor’s office had no comment on the reports about Ghosn. Mitsubishi and Renault also declined comment.
“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,” Nissan said.