Carlos Ghosn charged with financial misconduct – Nissan indicted for filing false financial statements

Carlos Ghosn charged with financial misconduct – Nissan indicted for filing false financial statements

Japanese prosecutors officially charged former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn today with financial misconduct, essentially for under-reporting his income. Both Ghosn and former representative director Greg Kelly were indicted for violating the Japan financial instruments and exchange act, namely for making false disclosures in five annual reports leading up to the fiscal year that ended in March 2015.

The authorities have also extended Ghosn’s detention for allegedly understating his income for three more years through March 2018, according to Reuters. An earlier report stated that Ghosn, the man commonly hailed as Nissan’s saviour when he took over as CEO in 1999, may have hid up to US$70 million (RM291 million) worth of salary and benefits paid to him by the automaker. Kelly, meanwhile, has been accused of assisting.

Prosecutors have also charged Nissan, the automaker being indicted for filing false financial statements. The automaker said it took the situation extremely seriously. “Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan’s public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret,” it said via a press statement.

The report added that Japan’s securities and exchange surveillance commission said the crime carried a fine of up to 700 million yen (RM25.9 million). The sum may be something that Nissan can easily manage, but the impact elsewhere may prove to be more difficult to handle.

According to analysts and legal experts, it could be difficult for Nissan and its CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, to avoid the fallout, with pertinent questions at present being whether other executives had knowledge of Ghosn’s misconduct and whether the company lacked the necessary internal controls.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • A leader with too much power, board of directors that closed one eye to misconducts, submissive underlings and creative accounting. This is starting to look like a mini 1MDB.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
  • policeman on Dec 10, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    Serve him right. No one is above the law, NO ONE

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
    • UTurn M on Dec 10, 2018 at 11:23 pm

      Except the Japanese paymasters who triggered the case to oust him.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
    • Pilihanraya Kalah Teruk on Dec 11, 2018 at 8:32 am

      Carlos maybe a crook but at least he made Nissan healthy again from near bankrupt. Despite making Nissan healthy again, he still songlap duit.

      So I wonder how clean past Proton directors and management are. Cause the company lost about RM20 billion in bailouts and it is still losing RM4 million per day.

      I think MACC and our Government need to open an investigation on Proton cause before 2010, Proton was doing very well and making lots of money.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
      • Nosushi on Dec 12, 2018 at 6:14 pm

        Nissan got money from Renault.
        Pls investigate why jepunis gip outdated engine and chassis until cannot export to first world countries

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • musangKing-originalz on Dec 11, 2018 at 12:35 pm

      U forgot the one called america governmant lolz

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Brian on Dec 10, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    Nissan only need to pay money which will be returned via tax deductions. Meanwhile Ghosn has to go to jail and his vision of a unified Nissan-Renault is buried.

    How convenient Japan treats their saviours.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 0
    • Jason on Dec 11, 2018 at 8:40 am

      Nissan sold more cars, they’re their own saviours

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 5
      • Optimus on Dec 11, 2018 at 11:59 am

        They only sold more cars now, but back then they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Without Renault money, they couldn’t make more cars to sell. So how did they become their own saviours, again?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • Nissan quality has gone down too.
        https://paultan.org/2018/12/07/nissan-to-recall-another-150000-vehicles-in-japan-as-a-result-of-improper-testing-made-during-final-inspection/

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • panjang on Dec 11, 2018 at 8:33 am

    Kelly assisted him but did not ‘gain’ anything…Something just does not add up.

    What is finance and payroll doing?
    nobody from that dept going to jail?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • camtakpro on Dec 11, 2018 at 10:49 am

    One reason Nissan kept producing unreliable CVT.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • normal_user on Dec 11, 2018 at 11:51 pm

    Our Malaysian authorities (Bursa, Security Comission etc) should emulate their Japanese counterparts. Im sure we have many Public Listed Company Directors out there who hid or under-report millions of ringgit of compensation.

    SC/Bursa should also made each directors declare their annual paychecks, rather than lump sump figure of directors remuneration in the Annual Report.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • History Bender on Dec 12, 2018 at 12:20 pm

      Overpaying is not a crime in private sectors as pay is determined by themselves. There’s no escape even for retirement benefits payout here unlike in Japan so there’s no question on directors who underreported.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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