GHOSN FACES REARREST
Former Nissan Motor chairman may now remain in detention till year-end
PROSECUTORS plan to arrest Carlos Ghosn on a fresh claim of understating his income, the Sankei newspaper reported yesterday, in a move that could keep the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co in detention until the end of the year.
Ghosn has been detained, here, since his November 19 arrest on suspicion of conspiring with former Nissan representative director Greg Kelly to understate his compensation by about half of the actual 10 billion yen (RM365 million), over five years from 2010.
Tokyo authorities on Friday extended their detention until the maximum December 10 for the alleged crime.
Citing unnamed sources, the Sankei daily said prosecutors planned to arrest Ghosn and Kelly on December 10 for the same crime covering the period from 2015 to last year, during which the suspects allegedly understated Ghosn’s income by about four billion yen.
If authorities approve the maximum detention for that case, Ghosn and Kelly would remain in custody until December 30, said the paper.
Meanwhile, Nissan yesterday failed to nominate a successor to Ghosn as chairman, a source familiar with the situation said.
A three-member panel of external Nissan directors put off a decision on recommending a replacement for the jailed Ghosn.
Renault’s board is due to meet today to discuss the crisis, said two sources.
Nissan has tasked former trade and industry official Masakazu Toyoda, retired Renault SA executive Jean-Baptiste Duzan and race car driver Keiko Ihara with the selection of a new chairman, which is to be submitted to the rest of the board on December 17. Changes to the board must be approved by shareholders.
The shock arrest of Ghosn has thrown the international spotlight onto Japan’s criminal justice system, where suspects face prolonged detention and interrogation without lawyers present.
Rights groups and lawyers have for years criticised the system, which relies heavily on squeezing out a “confession” from a suspect after lengthy questioning.