Carlos Ghosn Comes Down With Fever in Jail, Halting Interrogation
Ghosn has been locked up in a small Tokyo jail cell with a toilet and wash basin since his shock arrest Nov. 19.
(Bloomberg) -- After spending more than a month in a prison room in Tokyo, Carlos Ghosn has developed a fever, prompting the Japanese authorities to stop interrogating the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman.
A doctor is attending to the 64-year-old, who is tired from the long detention and interrogations, said his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru. Ghosn has been locked up in a small jail cell with a toilet and wash basin since his shock arrest Nov. 19.
As Ghosn faces a possible extension of his stay, Nissan and French partner Renault SA, which is still headed by the executive, are holding board meetings Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be named because the information isn’t public.
After almost two months in jail, Ghosn appeared in the Tokyo district court Tuesday to defend himself. He wore a dark suit -- but he also had handcuffs, plastic slippers and a rope around his waist. He was a pale imitation of the jet-setting car titan who saved Nissan and was the envy of auto executives worldwide. Ghosn appeared thinner and his hair was graying at the roots in his first public appearance since his arrest for alleged financial crimes.
Read: In Slippers and Cuffs, Ghosn in Court a Shadow of Davos-Man Self
Ghosn’s former aide and Nissan director Greg Kelly -- arrested the same day as the auto industry icon -- was released from jail last month and taken to a hospital afterward, Kyodo News reported earlier.
On Wednesday, Ghosn lost an appeal against his ongoing detention, diminishing the prospects of an early release on bail. His current detention term is scheduled to end Friday, although prosecutors have the right to appeal to a court for extending the detention. Meanwhile, Japan’s securities commission has asked prosecutors to indict the company, Ghosn and Kelly with additional charges.
--With assistance from Ma Jie.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kae Inoue in Tokyo at kinoue@bloomberg.net;Ania Nussbaum in Paris at anussbaum5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Tara Patel, Anthony Palazzo
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.