Nissan Chief in Custody Over Financial Scandal in Japan

By: Ahmed Yasser

CAIRO, Nov 19 (SEE) – Carlos Ghosn, the chairman of Nissan was arrested in Japan today on suspicion of falsifying financial statements and is due to be removed from his position.

Ghosn, 64 year old French-Brazilian, is suspected of having understated his income on financial statements and was exposed by a whistleblower.

The detained chairman, a rare foreign top executive in Japan, is regarded as one of the leading figures in the global car industry having forged an alliance between France’s Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi that created the world’s second largest car manufacturer.

He was the key figure behind the alliance between Nissan and Renault in 1999, joined by Mitsubishi in 2016, creating a top four car firm through a series of interlinked shareholdings. The alliance which sold 10.6m cars in 2017, has more than 450,000 employees worldwide.

The Brazilian-born Frenchman has led a dramatic turnaround at Nissan over the last two decades rescuing it from near bankruptcy.

Hiroto Saikawa, the chief executive will propose to the board that ''Ghosn'' be dismissed citing clear violations of the duty of care as directors.