Carlos Ghosn ousted over financial misconduct

[cwerdna]

Report: Japan court OKs extending custody of ex-Nissan chair
https://apnews.com/e97401b0d26b43d1973f ... _medium=AP and at https://twitter.com/AP/status/1068439219591368704

TOKYO (AP) — Kyodo News agency says a Japanese court has approved extending the detention of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for 10 more days.

The Japanese news agency said Friday that the Tokyo District Court has approved prosecutors’ request to keep Ghosn until Dec. 10.
...

Ditto for Greg Kelly.

Ghosn's Detention Extended Amid Calls for More Transparency
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ansparency

Carlos Ghosn’s arrest shows the merits of a carmakers’ merger
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/ ... ers-merger

How Carlos Ghosn has been spending his days in a cell in Kosuge
https://japantoday.com/category/feature ... -in-kosuge

[cwerdna]

Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon
https://www.apnews.com/3337fc0c5f0d45d8af02dde1af59ef07

After Carlos Ghosn, Japan may never hire another foreign CEO
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/30/business ... index.html

Carlos Ghosn’s arrest is more about Japanese criminal justice than corporate governance
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... overnance/
The below has been pointed out before although it hadn't occurred to me until now that the statement of compensation would be in Japanese.

The grounds for arresting Ghosn and his conveniently foreign fellow board member Greg Kelly may likely seem ridiculous. How could the pair file an untrue statement of compensation (in Japanese!) in spite of all the financial controls, audit trails and other mechanisms public companies have in place to ensure accuracy in their public reporting, without the acquiescence and cooperation of Nissan management? Granted, both men were representative directors meaning they had both the power to do so and symbolic responsibility for potentially all acts of the company in theory. In practice, however, it is an absurd proposition.

Ghosn and prosecutors battle over validity of top secret documents
Hidden in secretarial office, the papers outlined future payment to ex-chairman
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Nissan ... -documents

[SageBrush]

@cwerdna,
I would appreciate any links you have to facts.

[cwerdna]

^^^
I have a guess as to what you're implying. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Nissan, Tokyo prosecutors, et al. are particularly forthcoming about the facts. There are just bits and pieces leaking (?) out w/all sorts of possible allegations.

We know Ghosn and Kelly are in jail and that their stay there has been extended. From what https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/ ... overnance/ and some other stories have mentioned, it doesn't sound pleasant for someone being held in custody, esp. if you can't have your lawyers present during questioning.

The above piece asserts

Although now detained, the suspect is not yet a defendant: They have not yet been prosecuted for anything, not even the crime for which they were arrested. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, detention is essentially an investigative tool used to interrogate suspects and develop evidence. Suspects in detention have a constitutional right to counsel but not to have a lawyer present during questioning. In fact, the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers prosecutors to subordinate a suspect’s access to their lawyer to the needs of the prosecutor’s investigation.

It sounds like Japan has something similar to our 5th amendment (article 38?) but I know nothing about theirs, the implications, when it's valid or not, etc.

I'm trying to only post stories or pieces w/some new info or insight.

Nissan says Saikawa reported crime; others say it's more complex
http://www.autonews.com/article/2018120 ... sn-scandal

The resulting "Ghosn Shock," as it's being referred to in the Japanese media, is wrapped in mystery. And like any good conspiracy theory, one explanation churns up new questions.

One example: If Ghosn indeed has been improperly reporting compensation to the tune of ¥9 billion ($80 million) over eight years starting in 2009, why did the matter surface only this year?

Some are wondering how that large discrepancy could have gone unnoticed, since Nissan Motor Co. is one of the bluest of Japanese blue-chips. It is run by some of the world's biggest business brains and vetted by an army of auditors.

Another question from some observers: Why isn't Nissan being more public with details of Ghosn's alleged crimes? Even Masuko conceded that Mitsubishi's board summarily ousted Ghosn as chairman, even though the board's Nissan-appointed directors presented scant particulars of the case against him.
...
Another possible explanation for the surprise move against Ghosn: This year, for the first time, Japan adopted a criminal plea bargaining system. That new prosecution tool could have provided the perfect cover for someone to air Nissan's dirty laundry. And Tokyo's notoriously zealous prosecutors were happy to make Ghosn a shining example of the new rules in action.

Carlos Ghosn continues to deny wrongdoing and cannot accept making false confession: sources
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/ ... on-sources

Ghosn’s legal woes highlight governance failings in Japan
https://www.apnews.com/a904e525f5654463b7cefb5f66d122ac

Prosecutors have released very little information. Neither man has been officially charged. Under the Japanese system, suspects can be held for weeks for questioning without any charges.

Carlos Ghosn arrest shines light on Japan’s justice system
Credibility of courts that have 99.97% criminal conviction rate rests on justice being seen to be done
https://www.ft.com/content/efcffac4-f60 ... 22a0b02a6c

Prosecutors are public officials who move to a new posting every two or three years, and while high-profile convictions help a career, the greatest imperative is to avoid mistakes — such as an embarrassing acquittal. Unlike the high conviction rate at trial, the conviction rate following arrest is just 40 per cent, reflecting the large number of cases dropped along the way.

[cwerdna]

How Ghosn May Have Hidden $70 Million — From the Company That Paid Him
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... o-paid-him

A Backlash Is Coming to Carlos Ghosn’s Arrest
What could happen if the former Nissan chairman is released, and his story doesn’t match the prosecutors’ claims?
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... pan-nissan

Nissan’s Ghosn to Be Indicted by Prosecutors as Soon as Monday
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ikkei-says

Prosecutors are also planning to re-arrest Ghosn on new charges not yet made public, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private. In the first sign of blowback from the scandal for Nissan Motor Co., the carmaker is also set to be indicted for breaching Japan’s financial instruments and exchange act by making false statements on securities reports, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

Lebanon Rallies Around Carlos Ghosn, Even Buying Him a Mattress
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... a-mattress

[LTLFTcomposite]

Prosecutors interrogate for hours at a time, urging him to confess his crimes.

The purpose of this harsh approach is to break a suspect down, to force a confession out of him. The centerpiece of most Japanese criminal trials is not the introduction of evidence or the examination of witnesses; it’s the confession by the accused. As a result, when Japanese prosecutors take a case to trial, they win 99 percent of the time, a success rate that ranks with Russia and China.

Sounds like Robert Mueller.

There's a reason they're called shithole countries.

[WetEV]

Prosecutors interrogate for hours at a time, urging him to confess his crimes.

The purpose of this harsh approach is to break a suspect down, to force a confession out of him. The centerpiece of most Japanese criminal trials is not the introduction of evidence or the examination of witnesses; it’s the confession by the accused. As a result, when Japanese prosecutors take a case to trial, they win 99 percent of the time, a success rate that ranks with Russia and China.

Sounds like Robert Mueller.

There's a reason they're called shithole countries.

Which Japan isn't. US conviction rate is pretty high, as most cases are plea bargained, about 95%. Can be very coercive, unless you are wealthy.

Mueller's defendants are wealthy swamp dwellers.


https://www.cato.org/events/coercive-plea-bargaining

Many of the cases that go to trial are convictions as well.

[SageBrush]

Sounds like Robert Mueller.

Mueller is going after a bunch of scumbags and the traitorous psychopathic Russian biyatch at the top of the garbage pile

Go Mueller !

[EVforRobert]

Multiple outlets are already calling it a palace coup.

Good article by Joe Nocera
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... pan-nissan

Surprised by response of many Leafers here accepting the initial accusations at face value.

[Bouldergramp]

It is tricky to copy a Wall Street Journal article before the paywall kicks in but here it is with some possible typos:

Carlos Ghosn Planned to Replace Nissan
CEO Before His Arrest
TOKYO— Nissan Motor Co.’s Carlos Ghosn was planning to replace Nissan Chief
Executive Hiroto Saikawa before the plan was derailed by Mr. Ghosn’s arrest in Tokyo last
month, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Word of the Ghosn plan adds a new twist to the drama inside Nissan this year. Mr. Saikawa has
said the company was investigating possible misuse of corporate assets and other alleged
wrongdoing by Mr. Ghosn for months this year and was supplying information to Tokyo
prosecutors.
While that internal investigation was going on, Mr. Ghosn was growing increasingly
dissatisfied with Mr. Saikawa’s handling of business problems at Nissan including a slowdown
in U.S. sales and repeated quality issues in Japan, say people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Ghosn had expressed a desire for months to shake up the senior management ranks at
Nissan and made known to some executives his plan to replace Mr.Saikawa, said people
familiar with the plan. One of the people said Mr. Ghosn told associates he wanted to
put Mr. Saikawa’s ouster to a vote at a Nissan board meeting set for late November.
Instead the board voted unanimously on Nov. 22 to oust Mr. Ghosn as chairman after hearing
the results of Nissan’s investigation into his alleged financial misdeeds.
Mr. Saikawa couldn’t be reached for comment. It isn’t known whether he was aware of Mr.
Ghosn’s plans for a management shake-up or whether the internal Nissan drama was connected
to the timing of the arrest.
He had wanted to carry out his plan to oust Hiroto Saikawa at a board meeting in November
Nissan Motor’s board voted to remove Carlos Ghosn as chairman days after his arrest
Tokyo prosecutors arrested Mr. Ghosn, one of the global auto industry’s best-known executives,
on Nov. 19 after boarding his jet when it arrived in Tokyo. Prosecutors said he was suspected of
underreporting his compensation on Nissan’s financial reports for the five fiscal years through
March 2015.
Mr. Ghosn hasn’t been charged with any crime. He denies wrongdoing, according to Japanese
public broadcaster NHK. The office of Mr. Ghosn’s lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, has declined to
comment.
A Tokyo court has approved Mr. Ghosn’s detention through Monday. Prosecutors must decide
by then whether to indict Mr. Ghosn over the suspicions they initially cited in arresting him or
release him. They could restart the detention clock by citing different suspicions as a basis to
detain Mr. Ghosn.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Ghosn, as chairman of Nissan, was considered the ultimate
decision maker at the company. Mr. Saikawa has said that Mr. Ghosn had too much power
within Nissan and its alliance with French car maker Renault SA . Mr. Ghosn is chief executive
and chairman of Renault, which owns a 43% stake in Nissan and has three board seats at the
Japanese car maker.
Frictions between Renault and Nissan have risen in recent years. Some executives at Nissan,
the larger and more profitable of the two, have expressed concern about Renault’s influence on
Nissan’s business decisions.
Within Nissan, tensions before Mr. Ghosn’s arrest involved not only the future of the alliance
but also Nissan’s own business struggles. Sales in the U.S. have declined year-over-year in six of
the past eight months. Mr. Saikawa said Nissan needed to bolster U.S. profit margins, but initial
efforts to get profits up by trimming spending on incentives caused sales to crater in April.
In Japan, the company has recalled more than a million cars since discovering issues with
inspections at Nissan’s factories more than a year ago, and the problems keep coming. On
Friday, Nissan said it found workers in Japan incorrectly tested parking brakes and steering on
some vehicles.
When he stepped down as Nissan’s chief executive in 2017, Mr. Ghosn handpicked Mr. Saikawa
as his successor, and he continued to support the Japanese executive in public. Behind closed
doors, the two clashed over Nissan’s problems, people familiar with their disputes said.
Still, not everyone believed Mr. Saikawa’s job was in danger. One person familiar with the
relationship between the men said their differences hadn’t reached a point where Mr. Ghosn
would have contemplated removing Mr. Saikawa.
In Mr. Ghosn’s final years as Nissan chief executive, he pushed to reach an 8% share of global
auto sales and an 8% operating margin. The company missed both those targets.
Mr. Ghosn believed that only the largest car makers would survive in a future of self-driving and
electric cars, and he said the alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. should
seek to sell 14 million cars by 2022, up from 10.6 million last year.
“With the explosion of technology that is coming, it is going to make it very difficult for smaller
players to follow,” Mr. Ghosn told The Wall Street Journal in September 2017.
Two months later, Mr. Saikawa offered a different perspective at a news conference, saying
Nissan’s efforts to expand volume were eating into profitability.
“Of course, everyone wants to see how big the company will be eventually, but the most
important thing for a company is cash flow,” Mr. Saikawa said.
Mr. Ghosn was an executive at Renault when the French auto maker took a big stake in Nissan in
1999. Dispatched to Japan that year to fix Nissan, Mr. Ghosn executed a rapid turnaround. For
years, Mr. Saikawa worked closely by his side helping Nissan reduce costs in its supply chain.
When Mr. Saikawa’s appointment as chief executive was announced last year, Mr. Ghosn said
Mr. Saikawa was a man he could “totally trust.”