Ex-Nissan chief charged, served with fresh arrest warrant

TOKYO: Japanese prosecutors Monday formally charged Carlos Ghosn with financial misconduct for under-reporting his salary and also served him a fresh warrant on separate allegations, meaning the tycoon will likely spend Christmas in a cell.

It represents a stunning turnaround for the 64-year-old Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian executive, a once-revered colossus of the auto sector who won wide acclaim in Japan for saving car giant Nissan. In a move that sent shockwaves through the business world, the former Nissan chairman was arrested on November 19 on suspicion of under-declaring his income by some five billion yen ($44 million) between 2010 and 2015.

Prosecutors on Monday pressed formal charges on Ghosn — and key aide Greg Kelly — over this allegation, which both men are said to deny. The pair were also immediately re-arrested over fresh allegations that they conspired to under-declare Ghosn’s income by a further four billion yen over the past three years. Under Japanese law, suspects can be re-arrested several times for different allegations, allowing prosecutors to question them for prolonged periods — a system that has drawn criticism internationally. Monday was the final day prosecutors could hold Ghosn and Kelly, 62, before either charging or re-arresting them, and the fresh arrest gives them up to another 22 days of questioning.