Carlos Ghosn arrested

[gooki]

A few more tidbits here:

In reference to accusations of passing on about 1.85 billion yen ($17 million) in personal losses to Nissan, Ghosn insisted that he had asked the automaker to temporarily take on the collateral for certain foreign exchange contracts, "so long as it came to no cost to the company." The contracts were "then transferred back to me without Nissan incurring any loss," he said.

The executive is also accused of paying a Saudi Arabian acquaintance 1.6 billion yen in company funds. He asserted that Khaled Juffali was a "long-time supporter and partner" of the automaker who was "appropriately compensated" for "critical services that substantially benefited Nissan."

Ghosn also said he kept "a record of the market compensation" for his role, based on offers that he had been made to take the helm at other automakers, but this was done for his own reference and had no legal effect.

"I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed," he said.

Ghosn's 24-year-old son, Anthony, recently told French weekly Journal du Dimanche that in the Japanese judicial system "the defendant cannot have a complete vision of the documents of prosecutors," as they only "reveal little by little" the elements they possess.

The Japanese automaker has dismissed a further request from Renault for an extraordinary shareholders meeting, Nikkei learned on Monday.

Nissan President and CEO Hiroto Saikawa sent a letter to Renault Deputy CEO Thierry Bollore saying such a meeting would be "unnecessary."

"While there is no need to change our capital relationship at the moment, I won't rule out the possibility in the future," Saikawa told reporters in Tokyo on Monday.

"We need to re-evaluate whether we can keep the status quo," he said, adding that the current leadership needs to address the issue before handing over the reins to the next generation.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ni...as-been-wrongly-accused-and-unfairly-detained

 

[gooki]

Complete statement from Ghosn.

January 7, 2019

Statement of Carlos Ghosn

Your Honor,

I am grateful to finally have the opportunity to speak publicly. I look forward to beginning the process of defending myself against the accusations that have been made against me.

First, let me say that I have a genuine love and appreciation for Nissan. I believe strongly that in all of my efforts on behalf of the company, I have acted honorably, legally, and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives inside the company—with the sole purpose of supporting and strengthening Nissan, and helping to restore its place as one of Japan’s finest and most respected companies.

Now I would like to address the allegations.

1.The FX Forward contracts

When I first joined Nissan and moved to Japan almost 20 years ago, I wanted to be paid in U.S. dollars, but was told that that was not possible and was given an employment contract that required me to be paid in Japanese yen. I have long been concerned about the volatility of the yen relative to the U.S. dollar. I am a U.S. dollar-based individual—my children live in the U.S. and I have strong ties to Lebanon, whose currency has a fixed exchange rate against the U.S. dollar. I wanted predictability in my income in order to help me take care of my family.

To deal with this issue, I entered into foreign exchange contracts throughout my tenure at Nissan, beginning in 2002. Two such contracts are at issue in this proceeding. One was signed in 2006, when the Nissan stock price was around 1500 yen and the yen/dollar rate was around 118. The other was signed in 2007, when the Nissan stock price was around 1400 yen and the yen/dollar exchange rate was around 114.

The 2008–2009 financial crisis caused Nissan’s shares to plummet to 400 yen in October 2008 and to 250 yen in February 2009 (down more than 80% from its peak) and the yen/dollar exchange rate dropped below 80. It was a perfect storm that no one predicted. The entire banking system was frozen, and the bank asked for an immediate increase in my collateral on the contracts, which I could not satisfy on my own.

I was faced with two stark choices:

1. Resign from Nissan, so that I could receive my retirement allowance, which I could then use to provide the necessary collateral. But my moral commitment to Nissan would not allow me to step down during that crucial time; a captain doesn’t jump ship in the middle of a storm.

2. Ask Nissan to temporarily take on the collateral, so long as it came to no cost to the company, while I gathered collateral from my other sources.

I chose option 2. The FX contracts were then transferred back to me without Nissan incurring any loss.

2. Khaled Juffali

Khaled Juffali has been a long-time supporter and partner of Nissan. During a very difficult period, Khaled Juffali Company helped Nissan solicit financing and helped Nissan solve a complicated problem involving a local distributor—indeed, Juffali helped Nissan restructure struggling distributors throughout the Gulf region, enablingNissan to better compete with rivals like Toyota, which was outperforming Nissan. Juffali also assisted Nissan in negotiating the development of a manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, organizing high-level meetings with Saudi officials.

Khaled Juffali Company was appropriately compensated—an amount disclosed to and approved by the appropriate officers at Nissan—in exchange for these critical services that substantially benefited Nissan.

3. The FIEL Allegations

Four major companies sought to recruit me while I was CEO of Nissan, including Ford (by Bill Ford) and General Motors (by Steve Rattner, the then-Car Czar under President Barack Obama). Even though their proposals were very attractive, I could not in good conscience abandon Nissan while we were in the midst of ourturnaround. Nissan is an iconic Japanese company that I care about deeply. Although I chose not to pursue the other opportunities, I did keep a record of the market compensation for my role, which those companies offeredme if I had taken these jobs. This was an internal benchmark that I kept for my own future reference—it had no legal effect; it was never shared with the directors; and it never represented any kind of binding commitment. Infact, the various proposals for non-compete and advisory services post-retirement made by some members of the board did not reflect or reference my internal calculations, underscoring their hypothetical, non-binding nature.

Contrary to the accusations made by the prosecutors, I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed. Moreover, I understood that any draft proposals for post-retirement compensation were reviewed by internal and external lawyers, showing I had no intent to violate the law. For me, the test is the “death test”: if I died today, could my heirs require Nissan to pay anything other than my retirement allowance? The answer is an unequivocal “No.”

4. Contribution to Nissan

I have dedicated two decades of my life to reviving Nissan and building the Alliance. I worked toward these goals day and night, on the earth and in the air, standing shoulder to shoulder with hardworking Nissan employees around the globe, to create value. The fruits of our labors have been extraordinary. We transformed Nissan, moving it from a position of a debt of 2 trillion yen in 1999 to cash of 1.8 trillion yen at the end of 2006, from 2.5 million cars sold in 1999 at a significant loss to 5.8 million cars sold profitably in 2016. Nissan’s asset base tripled during the period. We saw the revival of icons like the Fairlady Z and Nissan G-TR; Nissan’s industrial entry into Wuhon, China, St. Petersburg, Russia, Chennai, India, and Resende, Brazil; the pioneering of a mass market for electric cars with the Leaf; the jumpstarting of autonomous cars; the introduction of Mitsubishi Motors to the Alliance; and the Alliance becoming the number one auto group in the world in 2017, producing more than 10 million cars annually. We created,directly and indirectly, countless jobs in Japan and reestablished Nissan as a pillar of the Japanese economy.

These accomplishments—secured alongside the peerless team of Nissan employees worldwide—are the greatest joy of my life, next to my family.

5. Conclusion

Your Honor, I am an innocent of the accusations made against me. I have always acted with integrity and have never been accused of any wrongdoing in my several-decade professional career. I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations.

Thank you, your Honor, for listening to me.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Thank you, Gooki, for giving us Ghosn's entire defense statement to read.

Of course this is just Ghosn's side of the story, and I can't see the evidence in question, but based solely on this one side of the case, it seems to me (as a layman) to be a pretty strong defense.

​

 

[gooki]

Ghosns appeal against the continued detection was rejected. I don’t think anyone though it’d get approved. Will be interesting to see what happens on the 11th.

The appeal by the lawyers of Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman, against his prolonged detention since his arrest Nov. 19 was rejected Wednesday by the Tokyo District Court.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ni...t-turns-down-Ghosn-s-appeal-of-long-detention

 

[gooki]

SESC looking to push forward with second set of charges.

Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has filed yet another a case against Nissan Motor's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, along with former representative director Greg Kelly and the company itself. The watchdog suspects they engaged in financial misconduct, in which Ghosn's compensation was underreported in the three years until March 2018.

The Tokyo District Court is expected to indict Ghosn and Kelly, as well as Nissan, for the same crime on Friday, while Ghosn is likely to also face indictment on a charge of breach of trust.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ni...s-a-fresh-case-against-Ghosn-Kelly-and-Nissan

 

[gooki]

Ghosn unwell.

Ousted Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn has had a high fever since Wednesday evening and his interrogation has been suspended as a doctor said he needs rest, one of his lawyers said Thursday.

Ghosn, 64, who has been detained since his arrest in November, made his first public appearance on Tuesday when he attended an open court hearing to seek an explanation for his prolonged detention and declared his innocence regarding financial misconduct and other allegations.

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday dismissed his lawyers' request to end the detention.

 

[gooki]

Loan denied

Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn sought to loan about 3 billion yen ($27.7 million at current rates) from the automaker in 2009 to a Saudi businessman who then helped Ghosn cover losses on a currency hedging deal, sources familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday.

According to investigation sources, Ghosn talked with non-Japanese Nissan executives in late January 2009 about a possible loan to a business run by al-Juffali. Ghosn sought approval within Nissan for the loan, the sources said.

But documents circulated for approval, which have been seized by prosecutors as part of the investigation, did not designate one specific borrower, instead listing multiple companies operated by al-Juffali as well as "other recipients" as candidates. The purpose of the loan was described in similarly vague terms, the sources said, adding that the proposal did not pass the company's internal checks.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ni...t-30m-Nissan-loan-to-Saudi-friend-say-sources

 

[gooki]

Ghosn, Kelly approved payment to board member of RNBV.

Ghosn and Kelly agreed on March 26, 2013 that RNBV would pay Sepehri 125,000 euros immediately, and monthly payments thereafter amounting to 100,000 euros per year, according to the minutes of their decision.

The two men were meeting as the RNBV board’s “governance, appointments and remuneration committee”. Its third member, Sepehri, had recused herself, the same document notes.

Four annual statements issued by RNBV confirm the subsequent payments, with a Dutch withholding tax deducted. While all RNBV directors were salaried Renault or Nissan managers, Sepehri was alone in receiving additional compensation for her board role.

In its response to Reuters, Renault said RNBV’s board of directors - who also include Ghosn, Bollore and Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa - was informed about members’ compensation.

“The RNBV management report, which is approved by the board and auditors, includes information about its executives’ pay,” the company said.

However, Sepehri’s fellow directors of unlisted RNBV were not told who received the 100,000 euros mentioned only as compensation to “board members”, according to a senior alliance executive who has seen the annual reports. He spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Wikipedia says: "Carlos Ghosn...is a Brazilian-born businessman who also has French and Lebanese nationality."

And Ghosn is one of the top executives of Renault, a French company. So why isn't France pressuring Japan to release Ghosn? Why does it seem as if Ghosn's American lawyers are the only ones outside Japan trying to get him released? Am I missing something here; has Ghosn made himself persona non grata in France? Or does France consider Ghosn, who apparently has citizenship in three countries and isn't French-born, to not be their responsibility?

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[gooki]

The French government understand the key to Renaults continued success is keeping the alliance alive. They also do not want to be seen giving wealthy individuals preferential treatment, local issues with inequality. Maybe if he'd been born in France there'd be more out cry.

With that said, the old France would have sent in a swat team by now and busted him out. After all the French did blow up a GreenPeace ship in a forgien harbor for much less.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_Rainbow_Warrior

 

[gooki]

Nissan cancels leases on Ghosns Japanese reaidence.

Meanwhile, Nissan has also terminated the lease to Ghosn's luxury apartment in Tokyo, his legal team said on Friday.

Nissan confirmed it had sent Ghosn's Japan-based legal team a termination notice on his residence in Azabu, one of Tokyo's priciest neighborhoods, on Monday, the latest step in ending its relationship with Ghosn, who is facing financial misconduct charges in Japan.

https://japantoday.com/category/cri...s-Nissan-cancels-lease-on-his-Tokyo-apartment

 

[gooki]

Procecuters move ahead with indictment for last two charges

Ghosn was charged with aggravated breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008, and for understating his compensation for three years, from 2015 to 2017, according to a statement from his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru

https://japantoday.com/category/cri...s-Nissan-cancels-lease-on-his-Tokyo-apartment

 

[gooki]

Ghosn applies for bail

Ghosn's legal team applied for bail later on Friday. The embattled executive has denied all allegations since he was arrested in November, and spoke in his own defense in court on Tuesday.

The application is not set to be processed until Tuesday at the earliest, as Monday is a Japanese public holiday.

Renault finds no evidence of wrong doing.

Renault, Nissan's largest shareholder, announced on Thursday that it had found no evidence of wrongdoing in an internal investigation. Ghosn remains chairman and CEO of the French automaker.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ni...uests-bail-after-being-hit-with-fresh-charges

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

Nissan cancels leases on Ghosns Japanese reaidence.

What's next? Evict him and toss his stuff out on the street before he can arrange to have it moved?

Nissan seems to be pulling every mean-spirited trick it can think of.

(◣_◢) <--Appropriately for this thread, that's a Japanese emoticon.

 

[Domenick]

InsideEVs post about the situation: Carlos Ghosn Indicted Again, Kept In Detention, Has Fever

 

[gooki]

Thanks for all the video links.

 

[Domenick]

Great video here of Jake Adelstein explaining the situation and Ghosn's lawyer's tactics: Carlos Ghosn case puts Japanese justice system in spotlight

 

[gooki]

Jose Munoz resigns from Nissan. Quite a story here. Read the whole article.

TOKYO – Jose Munoz, Nissan’s hard-charging chief performance officer and the man who drove the company’s U.S. sales to record highs, is leaving the Japanese carmaker as the scandal swirling around the suspected financial misconduct of ousted former Chairman Carlos Ghosn widens.

Munoz’s departure comes just days after Nissan Motor Co. said the executive had taken a leave of absence to focus on “special tasks” relating to the ongoing investigation of Ghosn, who was arrested in Japan on Nov. 19 and now faces three indictments.

https://www.autonews.com/executives/nissan-exec-jose-munoz-resigns-crisis-deepens

 

[gooki]

Some of the more interesting bits.

Munoz was a high-profile leader at the company who was often tipped to be the successor to current CEO Hiroto Saikawa.

Also on leave of absence is Senior Vice President Arun Bajaj, who heads human resources at Nissan as well as talent development at the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

"Unfortunately, Nissan is currently involved in matters that have and will continue to divert its focus,” Munoz said.

One Nissan insider called the sidelining of Munoz and Bajaj a “purge” of Ghosn-era executives.

Munoz had been scheduled to unveil the new extended-range Leaf electric vehicle Jan. 9 at CES in Las Vegas. That appearance was scrubbed. Munoz has been asked by Nissan to stay away from the office, one person familiar with his status said.

Another source close to Munoz said the former Nissan executive heard only Friday that sources inside the company were claiming he hadn’t been cooperative with the Ghosn investigation.

Munoz told the source it was “disappointing to hear the allegations,” the source said.

My 2 cents says Munoz doesn't want anything to do with the internal politics at Nissan.

 

[gooki]

Ghosn detention highlights potential for Japanese justice system to breach human rights.

The wife of ousted Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman Carlos Ghosn has urged Human Rights Watch to bring attention to the “harsh treatment” he has received while being detained in a Japanese jail.

Carole Ghosn, in the nine-page letter to Kanae Doi, the Japan director for Human Rights Watch, the non-government organization, asked the group to “shine a light on the harsh treatment of my husband and the human rights-related inequities inflicted upon him by the Japanese justice system.”

The former Nissan executive is being held in a 75-square-foot unheated cell and being denied his daily medication, according to Carole Ghosn’s letter. He has lost 7 kg (15 lb) since his detainment and eats only rice and barley, the letter said.

“For hours each day, the prosecutors interrogate him, browbeat him, lecture him and berate him, outside the presence of his attorneys, in an effort to extract a confession,” she said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...suffers-harsh-treatment-in-jail-idUSKCN1P70SQ