On November 20, 2018, Nissan widened its internal investigation into Carlos Ghosn to cover Renault-Nissan BV, the Dutch entity that oversees alliance operations under Renault’s control. The move signaled a possible push by the Japanese carmaker to reduce Renault’s influence over the global partnership.
According to people familiar with the matter, Nissan informed Renault’s board that it had found evidence suggesting potential wrongdoing at the venture. The disclosure came as Nissan said its own probe had already uncovered misconduct involving Ghosn, including allegations that he under-reported his compensation and used company assets for personal purposes.
Renault and Nissan both declined to comment on the new claims. Ghosn, who was 64 at the time, was arrested in Tokyo together with fellow director Greg Kelly, and Nissan said it planned to remove him as chairman.
The alliance between Renault and Nissan had been in place for 19 years and was expanded in 2016 to include Mitsubishi Motors. It had long been marked by friction, including tensions involving the French government, which held a 15 percent stake in Renault.
Under pressure from the French state, Ghosn had agreed in 2018 to examine a closer integration of the partners, a plan intended to deepen synergies, protect French industrial interests and make the alliance “irreversible”. That proposal had already unsettled Tokyo.
Nissan, despite being almost 60 percent larger than Renault by sales, remained the junior partner in the ownership structure. Renault held a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan, while Nissan held a 15 percent non-voting stake in Renault.
At a news conference in Japan, Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa said the accusations against Ghosn fell into three broad categories: under-reporting compensation, misrepresenting company investments and making personal use of company assets. He did not provide examples, citing the secrecy of the police investigation.
Saikawa also argued that the alliance structure concentrated too much authority in one person and said a new board committee would examine whether that setup played a role in the scandal. “In terms of structural issues, 43 percent is held by Renault and the head of Renault is currently serving as (chairman) of Nissan,” Saikawa said. “Of course this isn’t the only cause, but it’s one of the factors or drivers. So the committee... will have a deep dive on this issue as well.”
Neither Ghosn nor Kelly had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of the report.
Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Editing by Keith Weir.
