The Chairman of Nissan Is Expected to Be Arrested in Tokyo. Here’s Why.

Carlos Ghosn, the chairman of Nissan Motor Co., is set to be arrested in Tokyo over a suspected breach of Japanese financial trading law, the Asahi newspaper reported.

Ghosn is suspected of manipulating financial filings and the alleged violations are related to him under-reporting his own compensation, Asahi said, without saying where it got the information. Ghosn voluntarily went with Tokyo prosecutors, who are set to arrest him after questioning, the newspaper said.

A spokesman for Nissan said the company would hold a press conference later this evening Tokyo time. A representative for the Tokyo prosecutors said they don’t comment on individual cases.

Ghosn also heads Renault SA in France. A spokesman for Renault couldn’t be reached for immediate comment. Shares of the carmaker fell as much as 6.2 percent in Paris, while Nissan global depositary receipts sank more than 11 percent.

Among the most prominent car-industry executives globally, Ghosn, 64, built the three-way union of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. He said in September that he will continue to pare back his roles at the three individual companies, while continuing to head their alliance.

A spokesman for the France’s finance ministry declined to comment on the report. The country owns around 15 percent of Renault, Nissan’s partner, and supported Ghosn’s renewal at the helm of the French automaker.

Ghosn has been contemplating his career moves as the companies plan to change the pact’s structure, possibly through a merger. Ghosn gave up his role as chief executive officer of Nissan last year and has said that he may step down as CEO of Renault before his four-year term ends in 2022, fueling speculation the alliance could lose its architect and main leader for the past two decades.

The carmakers have given themselves two years to decide on a possible merger between them or find an alternative mechanism to enhance their partnership, Bloomberg News reported in July. Ghosn said in September that the companies will “clarify everything” within the first half of his current Renault CEO term.

Credit: Fortune

via USAHint.com