Nissan stops Ghosn as president of the company

Nissan stops Ghosn as president of the company

The manager is silent and remains in a cell of a detention center in Tokyo

  The board of directors of the automobile giant Nissan approved on Thursday the cessation of its president Carlos Ghosn, two days after the arrest of the businessman in Tokyo for alleged embezzlement. "After examining a detailed report of the internal investigation, the board voted unanimously (...) to dismiss Carlos Ghosn as Chairman of the Board," the company said in a statement.

  The meeting began around 07:00 h. at the group's headquarters, in Yokohama (outside of Tokyo). Behind closed doors, six men and one woman decided the fate of the almighty head of the world number one Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors car, whose path was abruptly turned when his plane landed in Japan on Monday and was arrested.

Since then, Ghosn has been silent and remains in a cell in a detention center in Tokyo.

Hiroto Saikawa, the constructor's executive director since April 2017, would have led the discussions. The decision was then taken by show of hands and four votes were enough to dismiss Ghosn.

In principle his interim replacement, probably Saikawa, formerly Ghosn's right-hand man, against whom he directed harsh criticism on Monday night, will be named.

Officially, the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian is accused of having, with accomplices, "minimized their remuneration five times between June 2011 and June 2015," declaring the Treasury revenues of 4.9 billion yen (about 37 million euros) instead of about 10,000 million yen.

"This type of false statements constitute one of the most serious faults in relation to the legislation imposed on listed companies," Shin Kukimoto, deputy prosecutor of Tokyo, told reporters on Thursday.

However, he did not want to give details about the investigation in progress nor about the hours of hearings held each day, while there is plenty of news in the Japanese media about the crimes that the 64-year-old tycoon would be guilty of.

Ghson is also suspected of abuse of social assets, according to the results of the internal investigation conducted by Nissan in recent months, although he was not arrested for this crime.

On Wednesday, the Tokyo court decided to extend its detention for ten days to continue the investigation, although the arrest could be extended further, according to the rules of the Japanese judicial system.

The businessman has received visits from the ambassador of France and the Brazilian consul, who has found him "in good shape".

The Nissan group, as a legal entity, can also be prosecuted in theory, said the representative of the prosecution.

For its part, Mitsubishi Motors (MMC) also plans to "dismiss it quickly" in a council to be held next week, according to a spokesperson for the company.

At Renault, for now, prudence prevails. The board of directors asked Nissan to "transmit all the information it has in the framework of the internal investigations to which Ghosn is subject".

At the moment, the French manufacturer appointed Thierry Bolloré, number two of the company, to take over from Ghosn on an interim basis.

The French government tried to reassure itself on Wednesday about the future of Renault, of which it owns 15%.

The French Economy Minister, Bruno Le Maire, said before the Paris presentation that a "solid" government, even if "provisional" had been chosen in order to allow the company to continue with its activities.

Le Maire plans to meet this Thursday afternoon with his Japanese counterpart, Hiroshige Seko, to discuss the maintenance of the partnership between Renault and Nissan and Mitsubishi and its "prolongation".

And although from Japan the incoming voices seek to calm the situation, the local press has echoed anonymous statements by Nissan officials who say that the group wants to review the structure of the alliance, "a necessary condition for it to continue," according to one of them.

The objective would be to review the cross-shareholding: Renault holds 43% of Nissan, but the Japanese, which exceeds its ally in business volume, does not have more than 15% of it, a situation that has caused discomfort in the archipelago since weather.

According to the Nikkei business daily, which quotes a Nissan official, Carlos Ghosn would pursue the two groups and "it would be possible to have a concrete plan in the spring" in this regard, although Saikawa has openly rejected this merger.