Jailed Ghosn arrested in Japan again

tokyo — Japanese prosecutors re-arrested Nissan Motor’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn on fresh, more serious allegations, dealing a blow to the car titan’s efforts to end his month-long stay in jail and seek bail.

In the latest twist in the drama that has shocked the global car industry, prosecutors said on Friday Ghosn is suspected of inflicting financial damage to Nissan from his own unprofitable investments.

The re-arrest gives prosecutors the right to detain Ghosn for at least a further 10 days and possibly longer, while potentially hurting his chances for bail.

While the charges against Ghosn had thus far been related to a relatively arcane point of accounting the new accusations are for a misdeed that has an actual victim: Nissan.

The prosecutors’ allegations are now more aligned with those of Nissan, which has accused Ghosn of misusing company assets and ousted him as chairman quickly after his arrest.

The latest development is a big reversal from events late on Thursday when the Tokyo district court refused to entertain prosecutors’ plea to extend the jail detention of Ghosn. —