Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO and Chairmen of Renault–Nissan, has been re-arrested in Japan and will have his total time in detention extended to about 40 days.
Ghosn and former Nissan director Greg Kelly were initially arrested in Japan on November 19th following accusations of financial misconduct. At the time, both men were charged with “reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation.”
Following their arrest, both Ghosn and Kelly were unanimously discharged by the board of directors for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. on November 22nd. Mitsubishi Motors discharged Ghosn as Chairman of the Board and Representative Director on November 26th. Renault has since abstained from taking action against Ghosn at this time.
On December 10th, both Ghosn and Kelly were re-arrested following allegations of under-reporting their income for the subsequent three years. Yesterday, on December 21st, Japanese prosecutors announced new allegations against Ghosn in order to gain an additional 10 days of arrest. According to prosecutors, Ghosn’s third arrest was “based on suspicions that around October 2008, Ghosn shifted personal trades to the automaker to make it responsible for 1.85 billion yen ($16.6 million) in appraisal losses, and inflicted damage on Nissan by having it deposit a total of $14.7 million on four occasions between June 2009 and March 2012 into a related bank account.” Kelly was not included in the third set of allegations.
During his extended detention, Ghosn may be interrogated for up to eight hours a day without the presence of a lawyer while prosecutors continue to pursue their investigations unhindered. Ghosn is expected to remain in custody through Christmas.
The recent Ghosn scandal forced Nissan to delay the unveiling of their upcoming LEAF model as they were concerned that the uproar over their former CEO’s allegations would overshadow the debut of their latest electric vehicle. At the time, a Nissan representative told Reuters that the upcoming LEAF would be postponed “to ensure that this important product unveiling could receive the coverage it merits.” Following Ghosn’s subsequent arrests, it’s difficult to say whether or not the continued scandal will further affect future Renault–Nissan announcements and roll-outs.
Source: Reuters
