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TOKYO – Japanese prosecutors have formally indicted Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Nissan-Renault automobile alliance, on Monday on charges of breach of trust, tainting new charges of financial irregularity in the head. of existing charges, thus creating additional pressure on him and ensuring that he remains imprisoned.
Ghosn, who continues to maintain his innocence, has been in a detention center in suburban Tokyo since April 4, when prosecutors stormed his apartment early in the morning. They seized evidence and dragged him to jail – his fourth arrest in the case until now – before attempting to bring his wife for an interrogation.
He had first been arrested in November on suspicion of hiding the exact amount of his executive's salary. He spent more than 100 days in detention, accumulating two more arrests. The prosecution's prosecution finally charged him with four counts, including the temporary delay of his financial losses on Nissan's account.
He was released in early March after paying a $ 9 million bail and agreed to impose strict limits on his activities that put him into a near-home.
But prosecutors quickly revealed that the initial charges were only the prelude to more serious allegations: after the April raid, prosecutors said they were investigating Mr. Ghosn about Allegations that he would have used a subsidiary of Nissan to recover $ 5 million.
Prosecutors have not revealed the details of the allegations, but a Nissan internal investigation revealed that Ghosn had authorized more than $ 30 million in payments to a business partner in Oman, according to a person familiar with the report. , who spoke of anonymity because the company has not yet made public all of its findings.
Part of this money was sent to a Lebanese company controlled by Ghosn, who then transferred funds to companies controlled by his wife, Carole, and his son, according to information published by the Japanese press. Ms. Ghosn appeared before a Japanese judge in mid-April to answer questions about the charges against her husband.
Neither Mr. Ghosn's wife nor his son were charged with wrongdoing. Ms. Ghosn said her husband was innocent. Its representatives stated that the payments were for commercial purposes only.
In a brief statement Monday, the Tokyo prosecutor's office said it had presented Mr. Ghosn with "an additional charge for violation of the Companies Act."
On the same day, Nissan stated that it had filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Ghosn regarding these charges.
"Nissan filed a complaint after it determined that payments made by Nissan to a foreign vehicle sales company via a subsidiary had been directed by Ghosn for its personal enrichment and were not necessary for commercial view, "said the company in a statement.
Since Ghosn's last arrest, his Japanese legal team has fought for his release and has appealed to the country's Supreme Court. But the judges refused to release him, convinced by the prosecutor's argument that Ghosn would be able to handle evidence or witnesses if he was released.
Monday was the last day for prosecutors to release Mr. Ghosn or charge him following his arrest this month.
His legal team has filed a new bail application, a spokesman for Ghosn said.
The treatment of Mr. Ghosn by the Japanese judicial system has drawn the attention of the international community to the harsh tactics employed by the country's prosecutors.
His family and legal team said the multiple arrests were intended to force Mr. Ghosn to confess to a crime he did not commit.
Japanese prosecutors are reputed to have extracted confessions from suspects, sometimes under duress: in 2017, 88% of those tried have confessed, according to data from the Supreme Court of Japan.
In a video statement after his arrest this month, Mr. Ghosn insisted that he was innocent, claiming that the charges against him were the result of a conspiracy concocted by Nissan executives , fearing to be blamed for years of poor financial results for the company.
"My greatest wish, he said, is to have a fair trial.
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