Currently reading: Carlos Ghosn's prison stay extended by 10 days
Nissan's former CEO has already been charged with financial misconduct, and now faces charges of breach of trust

Ex-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn will now remain in prison until 11 January, following a request by prosecutors to continue questioning him for 10 more days in the wake of his re-arrest on 21 December. 

Ghosn had been expected to be released from prison on New Year's Day, but the suspicion that he shifted a large private investment loss onto Nissan in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has prompted further investigation. 

Ghosn has already been formally charged with financial misconduct – over claims he under-reported his salary over a five-year period – in Japan. His lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, issued a written statement on 23 December explaining that his client's actions did not constitute a breach of trust, and that the payments identified by prosecutors were made for work completed by an unidentified person at Nissan.

The architect of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November accused of under-reporting his salary, using company assets for personal use and other claims.

Ghosn was stripped of his chairman roles at Nissan and Mitsubishi after the allegations emerged, although he remains chairman and CEO of Renault.

Nissan has also been charged by prosecutors as a corporation involved in the case, according to Japan broadcaster NHK. Former Nissan representative director Greg Kelly, who was arrested at the same time as Ghosn, was indicted, too. The court rejected a request to extend his detention, so he was released on 25 December.

If found guilty of the crimes he has been charged with, Ghosn could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to £4.9 million by Japanese financial regulators.

Ghosn has not issued any public statement following his arrest, but his defence team has denied the allegations of prosecutors, claiming that they are invalid because they do not relate to his salary but instead to future payments he was expected to receive after retiring.

Read more

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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asif 1 January 2019

Apparently...

Apparently it was reported that his daughter has said that he was intending to join the two companies Renault and Nissan in to one.

No way on earth would Nissan have agreed to that.
Nissan owe a lot to Renault for saving them back in the day. As a Nissan fan I'm glad that won't happen.

In defence of Ghosn though his treatment had been unacceptable. The Japanese legal system is clearly in the spotlight for its glaring injustice.

xxxx 2 January 2019

Insider dealing as well then

Telling your family of potential mergers before informing finacial authorities.  This is going to be a big fine! 

Kbummerby 31 December 2018

I bet the poor guy can't walk

I bet the poor guy can't walk properly by now. He'll never shower again.
mpls 20 December 2018

His daughter was reported to

His daughter was reported to have visted his home in Brazil to retrieve documents, what is he trying to hide ?

sabre 20 December 2018

mpls wrote:

mpls wrote:

His daughter was reported to have visted his home in Brazil to retrieve documents, what is he trying to hide ?

documents

kboothby 21 December 2018

LOL!

Nice one Sabre :)