Carlos Ghosn, the recently ousted chairman of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., has hired U.S. law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to defend him against allegations of financial misconduct.
Ghosn, is currently being held in Tokyo’s main detention centre, reported Reuters. He continues to be chairman and CEO of French auto giant Renault SA, having helped to set up the Nissan-Renault alliance back in 1999.
Reuters added that Ghosn faces two major sets of allegations: Under-reporting earnings and misappropriating funds.
Japanese prosecutors allege that Ghosn and fellow board member Greg Kelly, who is also being held for questioning, conspired to under-report by about half a 10 billion-yen ($88 million) Ghosn earned at Nissan over five years from fiscal 2010 in filings to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, said Reuters.
The Nikkei business daily and the Wall Street Journal have also said that Ghosn either under-reported or did not report billions of yen in share price-linked compensation, annual compensation from Nissan’s overseas subsidiaries and deferred compensation.
Reuters also quoted Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa as saying that a months-long internal investigation had also uncovered evidence that Ghosn used company funds for personal purposes and misrepresented the company’s investments. These reportedly included the purchase and renovation of homes for Ghosn in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam, and also paying several hundred thousand dollars for Ghosn’s family vacations.
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