Disgraced auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn took to Twitter on Tuesday night, announcing his intent to hold a press conference on April 11 where he promises to “tell the truth about what’s happening.” Ghosn served as chairman and CEO of Nissan and Renault as well as chairman of Mitsubishi until he was arrested late last year over allegations of “severe financial misconduct,” violating Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
Ghosn’s Twitter account was created in the past few days, is verified, and consists merely of the rather cryptic Tweet below and its Japanese translation.
Last time we saw Ghosn, he was being walked out of prison on bail in a city worker’s costume that fooled exactly no one. He had previously spent a total of 108 days behind bars, enduring what his family claims were inhumane living conditions.
As Ghosn awaits trial, he is currently required to stay in Japan, be “closely monitored” by surveillance cameras, and not have contact with anyone overseas.
Ghosn is being accused of significantly understating income, funneling company money to buy homes for his family, setting up hidden, post-retirement payments, and transferring personal investment losses to Nissan. According to CNN, he is denying all of the charges. Reports say the Japanese government is considering these crimes more serious than insider trading. All in all, he is being accused of “mishandling” a total of $82 million and faces up to 15 years in prison.
As for what kind of revelations to expect on April 11, the former auto exec has previously claimed in a January interview with Nikkei that the scandal was a result of “plot and treason” by Nissan bigwigs who didn’t like his plan to deepen the company’s ties to Renault and Mitsubishi.