Nissan has released a statement regarding its former CEO. It says it will take “appropriate legal action” against former Chairman Carlos Ghosn for any harm caused to the company, affirming its stance of holding him responsible for serious misconduct.
“The consequences of Ghosn’s misconduct have been significant,” the automaker said in the statement released on Tuesday.
Ghosn fled Japan in a daring escape just over a week ago. He is planning to hold a news conference in Beirut on Wednesday to express his innocence and argue that his arrest for financial crimes in Japan in November 2018 was part of a plot at the carmaker to take him down.
With profits at decade lows and it’s stock tanking, Nissan is rife with internal divisions over the ouster of its former leader and the way forward. Makoto Uchida, who became CEO last month, has a long list of challenges. Vice COO Jun Seki abruptly quit last month, some 12,500 jobs are on the chopping block, and Uchida needs to refresh an ageing lineup of models.
“The internal investigation found incontrovertible evidence of various acts of misconduct by Ghosn, including misstatement of his compensation and misappropriation of the company’s assets for his personal benefit,” Nissan said in the statement. “Nissan will continue to do the right thing by cooperating with judicial and regulatory authorities wherever necessary.”
Ghosn was arrested just over a year ago at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, kicking off a legal saga that saw him detained for months in solitary confinement before being released on bail, re-arrested and bailed out again. Ghosn was under house arrest, facing trial for alleged crimes including understating his income and breach of trust charges when on Dec. 31 — as Japan entered a weeklong holiday — he fled to Lebanon to escape what he described as a “rigged Japanese justice system.”
The former auto executive, who has Lebanese citizenship, plans to give the names of people he believes are behind a “coup” to take him down, including those of some in the Japanese government, at the anticipated press briefing, according to Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo, who said she spoke to him last weekend.
In his first remarks since the escape, Ghosn said he would “finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week.” Ghosn told Fox that he will say at the Beirut briefing that he’s willing to have his case heard by any court, aside from those in Japan.
Nissan needs to get its business in order fast, with autonomous vehicles and electrification poised to disrupt the auto industry in a once-in-a-generation shift. Ghosn’s arrest also hurt its alliance with top shareholder Renault, bringing long-standing tensions between the companies to the fore.
“Carlos Ghosn’s escape to the Lebanese Republic without the court’s permission in violation of his bail conditions is an act that defies Japan’s judicial system,” Nissan said. “Nissan finds it extremely regrettable.”
