Renault's Ghosn, Arrested Two Weeks Ago, Faces Re-arrest

He won’t have to travel far. Carlos Ghosn, who was booted as Nissan chairman following his November 19th arrest in Tokyo, will reportedly be re-arrested on a new claim of financial misdealings.

The new allegations, which also involve underreported income, give Japanese authorities what they’ve been looking for — more time with which to lay formal charges. Under the current extension granted late last week, Ghosn would have to walk free on December 10th. If re-arrested, it’ll mean a meager Christmas for the industry giant.

According to Reuters, citing Japan’s Sankei newspaper, Ghosn and his one-time right-hand man, former Nissan Representative Director Greg Kelly, could find themselves re-arrested for the same crimes they’re suspected of — underreporting income to Japan’s finance ministry. That would extend the detention period until Dec. 30.

This time, the alleged crimes cover the period of 2015 to 2017. Ghosn first landed in a Tokyo detention center after a whistleblower-sparked investigation at Nissan uncovered income reporting irregularities spanning the period of 2010 to 2014. Authorities claim the underreported amount for the first period amounts to roughly $44 million. The second period is said to total $35.4 million.

After a Nissan board decision to boot Ghosn as chairman, Mitsubishi followed suit. That leaves the former high-flying executive estranged from two-thirds of the alliance he started building at the end of the 1990s. The Renault side of the alliance finds itself in a tough spot, what with holding a considerable stake (43.4 percent, with voting rights) in Nissan and itself 15 percent owned by France. Nissan holds a 15 percent stake in its French partner.

While the three automakers issued a joint release pledging their dedication to keeping the alliance intact last week, pressure’s mounting on Renault’s board to make a decision about Ghosn’s future as the company’s chairman and CEO.

On Tuesday, Nissan’s board decided not to replace Ghosn as chairman. A Kyodo News report claimed that the decision was deferred to the company’s Dec. 17 meeting, Reuters reports.

[Image: Nissan]