YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who became one of the auto industry’s most powerful executives by engineering a turnaround at the Japanese manufacturer, was arrested Monday and will be fired for allegedly underreporting his income and misusing company funds, the automaker said.
The scandal reverberated across the globe and abruptly threw into question Ghosn’s future as leader of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which sold 10.6 million cars last year, more than any other manufacturer.
Nissan Motor Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa attends a press conference at Nissan Motor Co. Global Headquarter Monday Nov. 19, 2018 in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Nissan Motor Co.’s high-flying chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested Monday and will be dismissed after he allegedly under-reported his income and engaged in other misconduct, the company said Monday. (Kyodo News via AP)Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said Ghosn was taken into custody after being questioned by prosecutors upon arriving in Japan earlier in the day. Ghosn is of French, Brazilian and Lebanese background and lives in both France and Japan.
Nissan said Ghosn, 64, and another senior executive, Greg Kelly, were accused of offenses involving millions of dollars that were discovered during a monthslong investigation set off by a whistleblower. Kelly was also arrested.
“Beyond being sorry I feel great disappointment, frustration, despair, indignation and resentment,” Saikawa said, apologizing for a full seven minutes at the outset of a news conference.