Prosecutors charge former Nissan chairman with financial violations
● Carlos Ghosan has been accused of under-reporting his pay by £34m
0 Japanese pedestrians watch as a television news report on the prosecution of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosan Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been charged by prosecutors in Tokyo with under-reporting his income.
The charges imposed yesterday involve allegations Ghosn’s pay was under reported by about 5 billion yen (£34 million) in 2011-2015. The prosecutors said earlier that the allegations were the reason for Ghosn’s arrest on 19 November.
The arrest of an industry icon admired both in Japan and around the world has stunned many and raised concerns over the Japanese automaker and the future of its alliance with Renault SA of France.
The prosecutors issued statements yesterday outlining new allegations against Ghosn another executive, Greg Kelly, those are of under reporting another £28m in 2016-2018. Nissan as a company was not mentioned in the latest allegations.
In Japan, a company can be charged with wrongdoing.
Kelly, 62, is suspected of having collaborated with Ghosn. Kelly’s lawyer in the US said he is asserting his innocence. Ghosn has not commented.
He has been ousted as Nissan chairman and Kelly lost his representative director title following their arrests, but they both remain on the board.
Ghosn, 64, was sent to Nissan by its partner Renault SA of France in 1999 and led a dramatic turnaround of the nearbankrupt Japanese carmaker.
But Ghosn’s star-level pay drew attention since executives in Japan tend to be paid far less than their international counterparts.
Only Ghosn’s lawyers and embassy officials from Lebanon, France and Brazil, where he has citizenship, have been allowed to visit him.
Nissan said in a statement: “Nissan takes this situation extremely seriously. Making false disclosures in annu-
al securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan’s public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret.”
The statement said Nissan would work to improve its corporate governance and compliance, “including making accurate disclosures of corporate information”.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it had filed criminal complaints against Ghosn, Nissan and Kelly.
A commission official said on monday that nissan, ghosn and Kelly were suspected of falsifying reports on millions of dollars’ worth of Ghosn’s income.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference yesterday that Japan-french relations are unshakable despite concerns over the future of Nissan’s alliance with Renault after Ghosn’ indictment.
He said: “It is important to maintain the alliance, which is a symbol of cooperation between Japan and France,” he told a televised news conference.
It is typical in the Japanese legal system for there to be little access to comment by suspects. Prosecutors have also said little.
Only Ghosn’s attorneys and embassy officials from Lebanon, France and Brazil, where he has citizenship, have been allowed to visit him.
Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office, declined to say if the suspects were rejecting the allegations. He said Ghosn and Kelly were being detained because they are considered flight risks.
Japan’s criminal justice system long has been criticised for detaining people for extended periods to pressure them to confess. The conviction rate for those charged is more than 99 per cent.
Kukimoto denied prosecutors were working to force confessions.
“We do not have such a scenario. There is no such thing and we do not force suspects to make confessions to fit the story,” Kukimoto said in response to a reporter’s question.