Saikawa said three major types of misconduct were found, including under-reporting income, using investment funds for personal gain and illicit use of company expenses. Asked why the company had failed to spot the illicit activity for so long, Saikawa said it was because a “system in the company” allowed a lack of transparency that made the wrongdoing possible.
Already at Nissan for 19 years, Ghosn signed a contract earlier this year that would have run through 2022. His compensation, high by Japan’s moderate standards for executive pay, has been an issue over the years. According to NHK and the Kyodo News Service, Nissan paid Ghosn nearly 10 billion yen (89 million US dollars) over five years through March 2015, including salary and other income from the company, but reported as if he only made 5 billion yen (44 million US dollars), or half of what he had received.
Nissan’s annual securities report shows Ghosn received annual remuneration exceeding 1 billion yen (8.9 million US dollars) until fiscal 2016, when shareholders voted against his pay package and his annual pay dropped to 735 million yen (6.5 million US dollars) in 2017, down more than 30 percent.
Shares in Renault SA of France plunged 14 percent early Monday. The news of Ghosn’s troubles broke after Japanese markets had closed for the day.The allegations are a serious blow at a time when Nissan and Mitsubishi Motor Co. are still overcoming scandals over their quality testing reporting.
Ghosn is credited with helping engineer a remarkable turnaround at Nissan over the past two decades, resuscitating the Japanese automaker from near bankruptcy after he was sent in by Renault.
Ghosn served as Nissan’s chief executive from 2001 until April 2017, becoming chief executive of Renault in 2005, leading the two major automakers simultaneously. In 2016, Ghosn became Mitsubishi Motors’ chairman.
