Ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Detained Without Bail Over New Financial Allegations
Prosecutors want to question Ghosn regarding $5 million that was supposedly funneled through a Nissan distributor for his own personal gain.
While it's unusual to see a person re-arrested after posting bail, that's exactly what happened to former Nissan and Renault head Carlos Ghosn this week. Now we know why. The Tokyo District Court approved a request to detain Ghosn for 10 days for further questioning over allegations that Ghosn sent company funds through a Nissan distributor in Oman for his own personal gain, reports Reuters.
Prosecutors allege that $5 million of company funds that were sent through the Oman distributor went to Ghosn. It's a new allegation on top of the charges Ghosn already faces for supposedly under-reporting his Nissan salary and temporarily transferring his own financial losses to the automaker's books during the 2008 recession, and one that could show that Ghosn was using company funds for his own personal enrichment.
The Tokyo District Court also denied a request by Ghosn's lawyer to be freed while he fights charges related to financial misconduct as he led Nissan and Renault.
This latest arrest is Ghosn's fourth related to these charges, Reuters notes, and was made just before Ghosn was set to do a phone interview with Fox Business channel host Maria Baritromo from his Tokyo apartment. This comes just 30 days after Ghosn was released on a $9 million bail.
Ghosn continues to argue that his treatment by Japanese authorities is an attempt to "break" him, and maintains his innocence, all while claiming that this is part of a boardroom coup. It's not like he's going anywhere under house arrest, either.
However, Reuters explains that prosecutors are allowed to seek an additional 10 days of detention before formal charges are made. Ghosn will be held until April 14, at which time charges must be filed or he will be let go. Ghosn's family has previously criticized the conditions Ghosn was held in by Japanese authorities as being unfair and inhumane.
Renault is also now investigating company payments that were made to the same distributor in Oman, Reuters reports, which could widen the investigation on the French side of the Nissan-Renault Alliance.
