Nissan Motors chairman arrested over 'significant misconduct'

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • Flipboard
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
Nissan chairman under-reported his income by millions of dollars and engaged in other “significant misconduct"
Nissan chairman under-reported his income by millions of dollars and engaged in other “significant misconduct"

New Delhi : After series of internal investigation, Carlos Ghosn, the chairman of Nissan Motor Co. was found to have under-reported his income by millions of dollars and engaged in other “significant misconduct". He was arrested immediately after he voluntarily submitted to questioning by Tokyo prosecutors, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, though prosecutors did not confirm the move.

The investigation began after a whistleblower came with secret information about Ghosn. Along with under-reporting his pay, the 64-year-old also engaged in "numerous other significant acts of misconduct" including "personal use of company assets,” the Japanese car company said.

Along with Carlos Ghosn, Greg Kelly, a Nissan representative director, is also accused of under-reporting his income and was “deeply involved” in the misconduct. According to Japan's Kyodo News service, the accused duo under-reported their income by a combined $44 million.

Nissan, the Japanese car maker said that it was supplying information to the prosecutors and cooperating with their investigation.

The company added CEO Hiroto Saikawa plans to recommend the board remove Ghosn and Kelly from their positions."Nissan deeply apologizes for causing great concern to our shareholders and stakeholders. We will continue our work to identify our governance and compliance issues, and to take appropriate measures," the company said in a statement.

To inform, the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi group is among the biggest auto alliances in the world, selling about 10 million vehicles a year. Before joining Renault, Ghosn worked for Michelin North America. 

Carlos Ghosn is known for making a remarkable turnaround at Nissan over the past two decades, resuscitating the Japanese automaker from near bankruptcy after he was sent in by Renault.

Ghosn served as Nissan's chief executive from 2001 until April 2017, becoming chief executive of Renault in 2005, controlling the two major automakers simultaneously. In 2016, Ghosn became Mitsubishi Motors' chairman.