Carlos Ghosn Arrested Again Over New Financial Misconduct Allegations

Ousted Nissan Motor chief Carlos Ghosn was re-arrested on Thursday. He was out on bail since early March after spending 108 days in judicial custody.

According to reports, Ghosn was re-arrested from his Tokyo apartment Thursday morning over new allegations of financial misconduct.

In November, he was arrested on charges ranging from suppressing his income, abuse of official position to pushing personal investment losses to Nissan.

But he has denied all those charges.

A spokesperson of Ghosn described the arrest as “outrageous and arbitrary and an attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence Ghosn by misleading the prosecutors.”

Ghosn's lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said he would appeal against the latest arrest. He alleged that Tokyo prosecutors took away the passport and mobile phone of Ghosn's wife.

The allegation of financial misappropriation

According to the Tokyo prosecutor's office, the new charge involves Ghosn diverting Nissan funds for personal use. Between 2015 and 2018 Ghosn sent out payments to an overseas dealer on self-interest and caused loss to Nissan.

Another report said the rearrest related to the payment of $32m Nissan funds to a distributor in Oman. It is being suspected that a part of the funds was allegedly used in the purchase of luxury yacht for Ghosn and family.

But Ghosn denied irregularities in the use of discretionary fund adding that “under no circumstance, all or part of such payments ever benefited Carlos Ghosn or his family.”

Re-arrest after tweeting on press meet

Interestingly, Ghosn’s re-arrest came a day after he tweeted that he is going to hold a press conference on April 11 to reveal the truth behind his downfall.

Reports also said the latest arrest is a fall out of Renault turning against Ghosn for “questionable and concealed practices.”

Ghosn had resigned from the French carmaker in January. Both Nissan and Mitsubishi removed him as chairman after his arrest last year.

Renault initially differed with Nissan's allegations and held its own internal inquiry. On Wednesday, it accused Ghosn of “violations of the group's ethical principles.”

The French carmaker on Wednesday said it would stop Ghosn's pension, worth €765,000 ($859, 707) a year and move court.

Under the strict bail conditions, Ghosn is barred from using the internet and his offline use of computers is limited to weekdays at the lawyer’s premises.

Nissan declined to officially comment on Ghosn's new arrest. A spokesman had said earlier its own investigation into Ghosn had uncovered “substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct.”

Ghosn is known as a veteran in the car industry who led Nissan from the verge of bankruptcy two decades ago. He was also the architect of a successful alliance with Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors.

After his arrest in November, he was sacked as chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi but resigned as head of Renault only in January.