HOW TO STAY CLEAN

GHOSN IS OUSTED AT NISSAN

NISSAN shareholders ousted Carlos Ghosn as a director yesterday, severing his last tie with the Japanese carmaker he rescued from near-bankruptcy two decades ago and from which he is now accused of siphoning funds. Days after Ghosn’s latest arrest in Tokyo, shareholders gathered for an extraordinary meeting, expressing bafflement and disquiet about growing allegations of financial misconduct laid out before them – while seeking more clarity on how Nissan plans to recover from the scandal. Meeting shareholders for the first time since Ghosn’s initial arrest in November, Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa and JeanDominique Senard, the chairperson of its alliance partner Renault, said they needed to focus on collaboration and improving governance at the Japanese company. But they offered few concrete details about the way forward. “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. “I can’t say I feel better about the situation after today’s explanation.” Ghosn has denied all the allegations against him and said he is the victim of a boardroom coup. Proceedings were at times interrupted by some hecklers on the floor of the meeting, which was attended by a near record-high 4 100 shareholders.

I Reuters