Mr. Ghosn, 64, was arrested on Nov. 19 as he arrived in Tokyo for a board meeting. He was later charged with underreporting his compensation for several years in securities filings and has been detained in Tokyo.
Nissan’s internal investigation of what it calls “substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct” has taken on global dimensions, encompassing teams of compliance people who have tried to secure potential evidence at residences used by Mr. Ghosn, including an apartment in Rio de Janeiro.
“Our own investigation is ongoing, and its scope continues to broaden,” the company said in a statement Friday, suggesting that Mr. Ghosn’s legal problems could deepen. His family maintains he is innocent.
Like Mr. Ghosn, Greg Kelly, a Nissan board member, was indicted on financial misconduct changes. Nissan was indicted, too, and said it would review its compliance procedures.
Asked to respond to the Ghosn daughters’ claims — that animosity about a potential merger drove Nissan’s investigation — Nicholas Maxfield, a company spokesman, said: “These claims are baseless. The family would never have had any reason to be privy to discussions related to the future of Nissan and the alliance.”
“The cause of this chain of events is the misconduct led by Ghosn and Kelly,” Mr. Maxfield said. “During the company’s internal investigation into this misconduct, the prosecutor’s office began its own investigation and took action.” (Asked specifically whether a merger had been discussed, Mr. Maxfield said a previously announced six-year plan had called for “additional synergies and further convergence among the member companies.”)
Mr. Ghosn has remained in a small jail cell without the opportunity for bail since his arrest.
“That first night, I thought my dad was going to come back within 24 hours,” Maya Ghosn said. “In the U.S. you get held for a short period of time. At least, that was my experience watching ‘Billions,’” a Showtime drama about an embattled hedge fund billionaire.
from Just News Update http://bit.ly/2RlZFKN
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