Nissan's Ghosn arrested in Japan for under-reporting salary, to be fired
Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested by Tokyo authorities, the carmaker said Monday, and is expected to be fired by the company at a Thursday board meeting.
The impending dismissal concludes a months-long internal investigation by the company, the results of which have been shared with Japanese authorities.
Japanese media reports say Ghosn under-reported his compensation over five years by approximately $44 million.
"Based on a whistleblower report, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Nissan) has been conducting an internal investigation over the past several months regarding misconduct involving the company’s Representative Director and Chairman Carlos Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly," Nissan said in a statement.
"The investigation showed that over many years both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation."
The Asahi newspaper said prosecutors had begun searching the offices of Nissan's headquarters and other locations on Monday.
Nissan said CEO Hiroto Saikawa would propose to the Nissan board to remove Ghosn and Kelly.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment.
Renault shares tumbled 13 percent in Paris to be among the worst performing stocks in Europe. Nissan's German-listed securities plunged 12 percent.
Ghosn is well regarded for having turned Nissan around from near bankruptcy.
Ghosn began his career at Michelin in France, moving on to Renault. He joined Nissan in 1999 after Renault bought a controlling stake and became its CEO in 2001. Ghosn remained in that post till last year.