Nissan shares fall 5.45% after Chairman's arrest

Tokyo : Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan's shares on Tuesday fell by 5.45 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the arrest of its chairman over alleged financial irregularities.

Carlos Ghosn, responsible for creating the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested on Monday for allegedly under-reporting his income. He is expected to be relieved of his position, reports Efe news.

The price of Nissan shares fell to 950.7 yen ($8.45), after having earlier slumped to a low of 940 yen.

Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors, where Ghosn served as chairman of the board, said in a statement that it would launch an internal investigation to find out if he was involved in any irregularities within the company.

Mitsubishi's shares fell 6.85 per cent on the stock market.

Ghosn, 64, allegedly under-reported his income by 5 billion yen in the last five years, Kyodo news agency reported, citing company sources.