[ad_1]
TOKYO – Former Nissan Motor president Carlos Ghosn said on Wednesday that he had "no doubt" that the charges against him were the "conspiracy and treason" of Nissan executives opposed his project for closer integration of Renault and its two Japanese partners. .
In his first interview since his detention on Nov. 19, Ghosn acknowledged that "there was an integration plan" from Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. The plans were discussed with Nissan President Hiroto Saikawa in September, he added.
Ghosn claimed that he had wanted to include Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko in the talks, but that "Saikawa wanted him alone."
Once the three automakers were better integrated, Mr. Ghosn wanted to ensure "the sovereignty of his company," he said, adding that the plan was consistent with the way he had managed the alliance in recent years.
Ghosn's allies argued that some Nissan executives feared a new concentration of power under his leadership, prompting them to cooperate with Tokyo prosecutors.
Ghosn has spoken with Nikkei at the Tokyo Detention Center, where he has been detained since 19 November. (Illustration by Hajime Hagiwara)
The Brazilian-born tycoon dismissed accusations that his 19-year reign at Nissan was a "dictatorship," claiming it was a story created by rivals who wanted to dismiss him. "People have translated a strong leadership into a dictator, to distort reality" in order to get rid of me, he added.
Ghosn was allowed to talk to Nikkei for about 20 minutes at the Tokyo Detention Center, where he has been held without bail for more than 70 days since Tokyo attorneys arrested him for financial reasons.
He was accused of under-reporting his salary for several years and of having committed a breach of trust for allegedly transferring to Nissan his commercial losses related to foreign exchange contracts.
The breaches of trust relate to payments of $ 14.7 million to a company headed by Saudi businessman Khaled al-Juffali.
He denied the accusations and claimed that "the executive in charge of the region had signed [the approval]. "
The payment was made on Ghosn's "CEO Reserve", a kitty that he was free to decide how to spend. He said that "the CEO's reserve is not a black box" and that "four officers have signed" for payment to al-Juffali.
Ghosn is also accused of receiving 7.82 million euros ($ 8.9 million) in irregular payments through the intermediary of Nissan-Mitsubishi BV, a joint venture established in the United States. Low between the two Japanese companies. He added that the project was created for "synergy and not for payment", adding that the allegations of improper payments were a "distortion of reality".
Mr Ghosn said that his purchase of luxury properties in Rio de Janeiro and Beirut – which, according to Nissan, would have been poorly paid through a subsidiary – had been approved by the legal department. Addressing a former loyalist leader and former legal department, Ghosn said, "Hari Nada did all that."
He justified the houses on the grounds that he "needed a safe place where [he] can work and receive people in Brazil and Lebanon ".
"[Have I] completed [something] inappropriate? I am not a lawyer, I do not know the interpretation of [such] facts, "Ghosn said, noting his frustration at Nissan's internal investigation.
"Everyone knows them, why did not they tell me?"
Ghosn, whose second bail application was rejected on January 22, insisted that he was not running a risk of escape and that he would not destroy the evidence.
"I'm not going to run away, I'm going to defend [myself]"All the evidence is with Nissan and Nissan forbidden for all employees to talk to me."
Asked about life in the detention center, Ghosn said "there are ups and downs". As for his health, he simply said that he was "fine".
Nissan removed Mr. Ghosn from his position as president in November. An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders scheduled for mid-April should remove Ghosn from his position as director.
Ghosn resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Renault, and former Michelin chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was appointed chairman.
The three members of the alliance should review its operation in the absence of Ghosn's leadership. "I can not speculate on the future of the alliance," Ghosn said.
The French government, Renault's largest shareholder, has previously asked Ghosn to make "irreversible" relations between the two manufacturers.
After the arrest of Ghosn, France has also informed Tokyo of its intention to continue integration. Saikawa, on the contrary, insisted that "it is not necessary for the moment to discuss [it]. "
Interviewed by a Nikkei commentator Atushi Nakayama, Akito Tanaka and Yosuke Kurabe, editors of the Nikkei.
Source link
