EXCLUSIVE: Ghosn said to have favored Oman dealer in question

April 7, 2019

Tokyo--An Omani automobile dealer allegedly involved in shady money transfers from Nissan Motor Co. <7201> under Carlos Ghosn were once exempted from interest payments to Nissan, Jiji Press learned Saturday.

For the dealer, Nissan set the interest rate on deferred payments for automobiles at zero pct in 2009 and held it steady until around 2012. The rate was revised later but stayed below Nissan's interest standards, according to informed sources.

Such treatment is "usually impossible," a Nissan official said, claiming that behind the favor to the dealer was former Chairman Ghosn's instruction.

Japanese prosecutors are investigating whether there was a link between the alleged preferential treatment and Ghosn's reported borrowing of about 30 million dollars from the dealer's founder in 2009, the sources said.

Ghosn was rearrested in Tokyo on Thursday on fresh aggravated breach of trust charges. He allegedly inflicted losses on Nissan through the transfers of 5 million dollars via the dealer to a firm effectively owned by him.

Including the 5 million dollars, Ghosn may have sent at least 32 million dollars from Nissan's so-called CEO reserves, which were at his disposal, to the Omani dealer since around 2012, the sources said.

Ghosn has denied all charges against him. Jiji Press