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On November 22, 2018, a security guard is standing in front of Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama. (Martin Bureau / AFP / Getty Images)
Simon Denyer
Head of the Tokyo office covering Japan, North Korea and South Korea.
TOKYO – Nissan Motors will hold a meeting Thursday of the board of directors during which its members should end the reign of President Carlos Ghosn, three days after his shock, for financial misconduct.
Ghosn was the architect of Nissan's 19-year alliance with Renault and helped both companies recover in tough times for the industry.
Despite the charges, Mr. Ghosn has not been removed from his position as President and CEO. The arrest exposed the alliance.
Ghosn wanted a merger, or even a complete merger, of Nissan and Renault, partly at the request of the French government, which holds 15% of the capital of the French car manufacturer, but the management of Nissan had serious doubts about this idea. .
Tensions within Nissan were also revealed on Monday when Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa launched an astonishing attack on his former mentor at a spectacular press conference, lamenting "the dark side of the era. Ghosn "and the concentration of power and authority in an individual during his long" regime. "
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire have already spoken over the phone and stressed their willingness to maintain an alliance that they called "the 39, one of the greatest symbols of Franco-Japanese industrial cooperation ".
The two men are scheduled to meet in person in Paris on Thursday.
Nissan announced Monday that it had conducted a multi-month investigation on Ghosn after reporting a whistleblower. He had found that he had significantly underreported his income for years and spent the company's money for his personal use. He said he shared information with prosecutors who had conducted their own investigation.
Ghosn and his representative, Greg Kelly, were arrested on Monday and Japanese media reported that prosecutors had received authorization from a Tokyo court on Wednesday to extend their detention for another 10 days.
Ghosn, a French citizen of Lebanese origin of Brazilian descent, is currently being held at the Tokyo Detention Center, in a Spartan cell far removed from his luxurious lifestyle, Nikkei newspaper reported.
Under Japanese law, Mr. Ghosn could be sentenced to up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to 10 million yen ($ 89,000).
France's ambassador to Japan, Laurent Pic, went to Gaza on Tuesday while the Lebanese government is worried that his trial will be fair.
Japanese prosecutors have not spoken publicly, but this week the Japanese media have published numerous anonymous articles about Ghosn's alleged crimes.
According to this information, Ghosn secretly used Nissan's money to secretly buy and maintain a series of luxury homes in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam.
The Yomiuri newspaper also cited anonymous sources according to which Ghosn reportedly ordered that the equivalent of about $ 100,000 a year be paid to his older sister for a non-existent advisory role.
Ghosn's track record of bringing the two automakers together is widely recognized, but its payroll has long been a source of controversy: Ghosn may have concealed its true compensation to avoid shareholder anger, including French government, according to experts.
Read more:
Following Nissan scandal, France calls for "interim governance" at Renault
President Carlos Ghosn was arrested for alleged financial reasons, according to Nissan
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