Nissan has been fined over 200 million yen (R26 million) following a ruling by the Japanese District Court. The firm has announced that it will not appeal the decision which was made following the ongoing scandal of Carlos Ghosn and Nissan.
In 2018, Nissan conducted an internal investigation which resulted in the discovery of Ghosn’s underreported compensation figures. According to Japanese prosecutors, Ghosn allegedly earned about 10 billion Yen or R133 million from 2011 to 2015, however half of what he had made during this period was reported in the Nissan annual reports.
Alongside Ghosn, former Nissan executive Greg Kelly was implicated in Goshn’s scheme. Following the investigation, the former CEO was promptly relieved of his position as chairman of Nissan in 2018. Kelly has been found guilty for aiding in the misrepresentation of Nissan’s former CEO’s funds.
The scandal gained massive traction globally after the disgraced former CEO fled the country, hidden in a musical equipment box. According to the Japanese prosecutors that oversaw the investigation, it was easy for Ghosn to flee the country thanks to his power and wealth. It is believed that the former CEO is residing in Lebanon and currently has awarrant issued for his arrest by Interpol.
Lebanese officials have yet to comment on what action would be taken against Ghosn. Following the dramatic spiral of the CEO’s career, he was noted as having said in 2020 that the Japanese manufacturer would be bankrupt within the next 2 to 3 years. A year later, he then said that Nissan had become “boring and mediocre.”
Nissan has promised that they are strengthening their internal governance systems and making sure that this sort of incident is not repeated going forward. It was reported that after Ghosn’s arrest, Renault and Nissan would see a separation. Executives discussed the spilt between engineering and manufacturing between the manufacturers, with a significant restructure of the Nissan board of directors having also been a topic of discussion between the executives.
Words: Ryan de Villiers
