Mitsubishi Motors dismisses Ghosn as chairman

Tokyo: The Latest on Mitsubishi Motors’ decision to dismiss Carlos Ghosn as its chairman after his arrest for suspected financial misconduct (all times local):

The board of directors of Mitsubishi Motors has voted to dismiss Carlos Ghosn as its chairman following his arrest for suspected financial misconduct.

The decision Monday follows Nissan Motor Co.’s unanimous board vote last week to dismiss him as its chairman. Mitsubishi is part of an alliance with Nissan and France’s Renault, SA, the top selling auto group last year.

Ghosn still heads Renault. Its board opted to wait for evidence about his case, while appointing another executive to fill in for him for now.

On Nov 19 Japanese prosecutors arrested Ghosn, along with another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly, for suspected underreporting of Ghosn’s pay, among other allegations.

Nissan says an internal probe prompted by a whistleblower found serious misconduct including under-reporting of Ghosn’s income and misuse of company assets.

The board of Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors, which is allied with Renault and Nissan, met on Monday to decide whether to keep or oust Carlos Ghosn as its chairman after his arrest last week.

Prosecutors arrested Ghosn on Nov. 19 on suspicion of under-reporting his income by $44 million over five years. Nissan Motor Co., which already has ousted him as its chairman, says an internal investigation found Ghosn abused company money and assets.

Ghosn’s arrest marked a stunning fall for an executive who dominated the Japanese auto industry for two decades and spearheaded Nissan’s alliance with Renault SA of France.

Ghosn also led the addition of Mitsubishi into the alliance. Nissan took a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi in 2016.