Nissan might be wrapped up in Carlos Ghosn's legal troubles, report says
The report says prosecutors plan to indict not only Ghosn, but also the automaker itself.
Almost three weeks ago, Japanese authorities arrested now-former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn over alleged financial malfeasance. Next week, a new report says the investigation will start handing out indictments.
Prosecutors in Tokyo will soon hand down indictments for Ghosn, former Nissan director Greg Kelly and the automaker itself, Reuters reports, citing a report in Japan's Nikkei business daily. Nissan did not immediately return Roadshow's request for comment, but it declined to comment to Reuters.
Japanese authorities have already arrested Ghosn and Kelly, and their 22-day detention period ends Monday. Thus, as Reuters notes, prosecutors need to decide whether to cut them loose or indict them -- or, possibly, arrest the two again on different charges.
In terms of specific charges, Reuters cites Nikkei's claim that all three entities will be indicted for underreporting salaries in five separate reports, and it's possible that both Ghosn and Kelly will be rearrested in connection with misstatements in the years that followed the underreporting of salaries. Reuters points out that Nissan could potentially be involved because Japanese law holds companies accountable when specific people make false statements in company reports.
On Nov. 19, Ghosn and Kelly were arrested in Japan following allegations of financial misconduct. Specifically, it's believed that both Ghosn and Kelly underreported their compensations by millions of dollars, and Nissan claimed in a statement that it, too, found "significant acts of misconduct" elsewhere. In a board meeting that followed, Ghosn was removed was chairman. At the time of writing, he remains the chairman and CEO of Renault.
