ADVERTISEMENT

Nissan Files Criminal Complaint Against Ghosn for Use of Company Funds

Nissan Motor filed a criminal complaint against former Chairman Carlos Ghosn for allegedly using company funds for personal use.

Nissan Files Criminal Complaint Against Ghosn for Use of Company Funds
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., left, attends a news conference in Seoul, South Korea. (Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. filed a criminal complaint against former Chairman Carlos Ghosn for allegedly using company funds for his personal use.

Ghosn violated the Companies Act, the Yokohama-based automaker said, adding that it determined that payments made by Nissan to an overseas vehicle sales company via a subsidiary “were in fact directed by Ghosn for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint,” Nissan said in a statement Monday.

Nissan Files Criminal Complaint Against Ghosn for Use of Company Funds

Tokyo prosecutors are preparing to indict Ghosn on the most serious charges yet, most likely on money flows related to a distributor in Oman, according to national broadcaster NHK. A new, third round of charges will probably keep Ghosn detained for longer. Ghosn briefly won his freedom on bail in March, but was arrested and jailed again on new allegations of sending million of dollars from Nissan money to accounts he controlled.

“Nissan is requesting appropriately strict penalties,” the automaker said in the statement. “Nissan takes this unfortunate situation very seriously and again expresses sincere regret for any concern caused to our valued stakeholders.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ma Jie in Tokyo at jma124@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Reed Stevenson, Jeff Sutherland

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.