Ghosn was arrested in April on these new charges.
Japanese prosecutors announced new charges against fallen Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn. This is the fourth time he’s faced new charges, the latest of which allege he misappropriated $5 million from the company for his personal use during his time as its chairman.
More specifically, the indictment says Ghosn siphoned the money through a third-party company “virtually owned by him,” as stated in an Automotive News report. He reportedly pocketed $2.5 million in July 2017 and another $2.5 million in July 2018. The money, the indictment states, went from a Nissan subsidiary to a Nissan overseas distributor, then to this third company.
On Monday, Nissan said it filed a criminal complaint against Ghosn for the alleged breach of trust. It said the company incurred financial damage as the result of Ghosn’s misconduct, and called for penalties against him. According to a company statement, “Nissan filed the complaint after determining that payments made by Nissan to an overseas vehicle sales company via a subsidiary were in fact directed by Ghosn for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint.”
Ghosn maintains his innocence
By April, authorities arrested the former Nissan executive on three previous charges. He is awaiting trial on those three indictments for financial misconduct. Since his original arrest on November 19, 2018, he spent 108 days in jail before being released on a $9 million bail. After being free for less than a month, Ghosn was arrested again.
At this point, Ghosn maintains his innocence. Beyond denying wrongdoing, he has also blamed his arrest on “backstabbing” Nissan executives seeking to oust him. “This is a plot. This is about conspiracy…about backstabbing,” he said in a video prior to his April 4 arrest. He called this arrest “outrageous and arbitrary.”
Ghosn faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty on previously filed indictments.
