Nissan paying $15M, Ghosn $1M to settle SEC fraud charges
WASHINGTON — Nissan will pay $15 million and former chairman Carlos Ghosn will pay $1 million to settle allegations by U.S. regulators that they hid more than $140 million of Ghosn’s retirement benefits from investors.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday the settlement of civil fraud charges with the major Japanese automaker and its former chairman, who also will be barred for 10 years from serving as an officer or director of a public company. Ghosn, 65, is awaiting trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges in a criminal case.
Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades, was arrested by Japanese authorities in Tokyo and jailed four times since November. He has maintained that he is innocent.
He is currently out on bail but faces restrictions on his activities such as not being allowed to contact his wife, Carole Ghosn.
She has appeared before a Japanese judge to answer questions in the case. The first hearing in the trial has been set for April.
Ghosn and Nissan Motor Co. settled the charges without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, but agreed to refrain from future anti-fraud violations.
In addition, a former Nissan director, Greg Kelly, agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty to settle the SEC charges, to be barred for five years from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and to be suspended for five years from practicing as an attorney before the SEC.
In a statement, Ghosn’s team of lawyers noted that he will be allowed to contest and deny the allegations in the criminal case in Japan, and they said he “fully intends to do so.”
“Mr. Ghosn and his defense team are now able to focus their efforts on continuing to vigorously fight the criminal case in Japan and pursue his claims against Nissan around the world,” the statement said.
In a statement issued in Japan, Nissan noted that it had cooperated with the SEC’s investigation. It said it has taken actions to prevent problems from recurring, including setting up a new governance structure.
An attorney for Kelly wasn’t immediately available for comment. Starting in 2009, Ghosn, with the help of Kelly and subordinates at Nissan, conducted a scheme to conceal more than $90 million of his compensation from investors and public disclosure, while also acting to increase his retirement benefits by over $50 million, the SEC alleged.
“Simply put, Nissan’s disclosures about Ghosn’s compensation were false,” Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said.