Nissan boss still held

FINANCIAL ‘IRREGULARITIES’: MAY BE IN CUSTODY FOR 10 MORE DAYS

Suspicion of violating financial laws by underreporting millions of dollars.

Tokyo

Japanese prosecutors said yesterday they would detain former Nissan chairperson Carlos Ghosn for as long as needed to finish their investigation into suspicions of financial irregularities.

Meanwhile, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance reaffirmed its partnership.

Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office, defended its handling of Ghosn, who was arrested on November 19 with another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly.

“We are not detaining [Ghosn] for an unnecessarily long time,” Kukimoto said. “We only take steps as needed.”

Kukimoto refused to confirm reports that Ghosn and Kelly have denied the allegations against them.

Ghosn is suspected of violating financial laws by under-reporting millions of dollars in income and Kelly of collaborating in that. Nissan has also said an internal probe triggered by a whistleblower found Ghosn allegedly misused company assets.

Japanese carmakers Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have since dismissed Ghosn as their chairperson. Renault SA of France has named an interim chairperson but kept him on while seeking more information about his case.

Last week, prosecutors obtained a court’s approval to keep Ghosn until today, in line with standard investigative procedures in Japan, Kukimoto said.

After an initial investigation period, Japanese authorities can detain a suspect up to 20 days per charge and gain more time by adding more charges.

“Japan is a law-abiding country and this is the way our justice system works. I don’t see any problem with that,” Kukimoto said. “Each country has its own history and culture ... It is not appropriate to criticise a system in another country just because it’s different from your own.”

Prosecutors are expected to obtain a court’s permission today to keep Ghosn and Kelly in custody for another 10 days, until December 10. Kukimoto declined to comment on that.

The arrest and detention of such a prominent businessperson is shedding light on Japan’s pre-indictment detention of suspects, even those suspected of financial crimes, which has long drawn criticism from human rights activists.

At the time of his arrest, Ghosn was heading the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. His legal predicament has raised speculation about troubles within the alliance. Yesterday, the carmakers issued a statement saying member companies had individually and collectively “emphatically reiterated their strong commitment” to the partnership. –