According to a report by Asahi Shumbun, Carlos Ghosn could be arrested in Japan after the Nissan chairman was questioned over suspected under-reporting of his corporate salary by several hundreds of millions of yen.
The (suspected) crime is a violation of Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and the authorities have already begun searching the offices of Nissan’s headquarters and other locations.
Nissan has since issued a statement saying that it would promptly remove Ghosn from his positions as chairman and representative director at Nissan, with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa set to propose the matter to Nissan’s board of directors.
Also on the chopping block is Nissan representative director Greg Kelly, who was discovered to be “deeply involved” in reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount.
The Japanese carmaker said it had been conducting an internal investigation over the past several months regarding misconduct involving Ghosn and Kelly, with information being supplied to the Japanese Public Prosecutors Office.
Ghosn, who relinquished his roles as Nissan president and CEO last year, is currently a chairman at the Japanese carmaker, as well as at Mitsubishi. He is also the chairman and CEO at Renault and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
The French national was largely credited for the turnaround of Nissan from near bankruptcy and his radical restructuring of Renault between the late 90s and early 2000s.
