Nissan Removes Disgraced Carlos Ghosn as Chairman

November 23, 2018

Yokohama--Nissan Motor Co.'s <7201> board of directors on Thursday unanimously voted to dismiss its leader, Carols Ghosn, as its chairman after he was arrested earlier this week for allegedly underreporting his executive pay.

The decision was made at an extraordinary board meeting held at the major Japanese automaker's headquarters in Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

The board also voted to strip Ghosn, 64, of his right to represent the company while allowing him to remain a Nissan board director.

Ghosn was arrested by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Monday on suspicion of understating his pay for five years until fiscal 2014 by some 5 billion yen in securities reports in violation of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Nissan is now set to embark on drastic reforms of its governance system by putting an end to the leadership of Ghosn, who had been wielding his power at the firm since he became chief operating officer in 1999 and president in 2000, sources familiar with the situation said.Jiji Press