Nissan face £18m fine over chief’s pay

Japanese securities regulators are recommending that car maker Nissan be fined £16.8m over the under-reporting of compensation of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission said it made the recommendation to the government's financial services agency on the disclosure documents from 2014 to 2017.

Nissan said it accepted the penalty and had corrected its securities documents in May, although its final decision will come after it receives official notice.

"The company takes this recommendation extremely seriously," it said in a statement.

Nissan was charged with under-reporting Ghosn's compensation.

Companies are required to report the money they pay executives in annual statements to the securities exchange.

The allegations involve money Ghosn could have received in the future after retirement.

Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 and is out on bail.

He has been charged with under-reporting his compensation and other financial misconduct.

He says he is innocent and the future compensation was never agreed on or paid.

His trial has not yet started.

Prosecutors say they are confident they have a case but will not disclose details.

Ghosn's lawyers say the allegations are a result of trumped-up charges rooted in a conspiracy among Nissan, government officials and prosecutors to oust him to prevent a fuller merger with Nissan's alliance partner Renault SA of France.