Former Nissan chairman makes first court appearance
January 8, 2019 | Investopaper
Former Nissan chairman Mr. Carlos Ghosn has made his first court appearance in handcuffs with a rope around his waist.
Mr. Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 after he was accused of financial crime and reporting his pay falsely. The recent arrest was made on the fresh allegations of breach of trust. Other claims by media against him include shifting his private investment losses to Nissan during 2008 financial crisis.
Denying the accusations, he read a prepared statement that he had been wrongly accused and unfairly detained, based on baseless and unproven accusations. In addition, he said that Nissan has never provided any undisclosed compensation to him.
Furthermore, he said that he gave all his efforts to revive Nissan for two decades and never got accused for any wrongdoing at that time.
Reuters also reported that Ghosn’s lawyer, in a news conference in Tokyo later said that there was no reason to detain him to carry thorough investigation.
The arrest shocked the whole car industry two months ago and recently his lengthy detention has also drawn criticism. But the judge said that the detention period was justifiable on the grounds that it was prolonged to prevent evidence tampering and the risk that Mr. Ghosn might abscond.
