Nissan's auditors had repeatedly doubted

After the denials of the accused, new revelation in the thorny case Carlos Ghosn: the suspicions of the audit firm Nissan, who had asked the company several questions about the benefits of its president, around 2013.

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According to a source close to the file that told Reuters, the audit firm Ernst & Young ShinNihon, in charge of the accounts of Nissan, has indeed repeatedly expressed doubts about the transactions at the heart of the accusations of financial fraud against Carlos Ghosn but the Japanese manufacturer had badured him that everything was done in the rules.

Repetitive questions

Ernst & Young ShinNihon interviewed Nissan management several times, mainly around 2013. Nissan's queries related to purchases of luxury residences abroad for the personal use of his boss. Ernst & Young ShinNihon notably asked Nissan's management whether the Dutch entity Zi-A Capital BV, which bought the residences abroad for Carlos Ghosn, was operating according to its status as investment company, said the source. The builder reportedly said that was the case. The Japanese media estimates that the amount of these real estate transactions has exceeded 2 billion yen (15.5 million euros).

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The questions also related to share appreciation rights granted to Carlos Ghosn. The accountants of Ernst & Young ShinNihon asked whether these rights should be declared. Again, Nissan responded that the group's financial transactions and communications were in line with the rules, and it was not necessary to report, according to this source. These rights are like stock options but paid in cash when the share reaches a certain price defined in advance. According to the Japanese media, these rights attributed to Carlos Ghosn amounted to about 4 billion yen.

Ernst & Young and Carlos Ghosn's lawyers refuse to comment

Carlos Ghosn has been in custody since November 19 in Japan, the Tokyo prosecutor's office and Nissan accusing him of not having declared all his income and to have diverted property of the company for personal purposes. The Japanese builder, who then ousted Carlos Ghosn as chairman of his board, said the fraud was orchestrated by Carlos Ghosn himself with the help of another director, Greg Kelly.

A spokesman for Ernst & Young ShinNihon said he could not comment on specific cases while Nissan declined to comment. The cabinet of Motonari Otsuru, presented as his lawyer in the Japanese media, also declined to answer Reuters questions on Wednesday.

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