Mitsubishi Motors alleges ex-boss Ghosn improperly paid by Dutch unit

January 18, 2019

Tokyo--Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211> said Friday that former Chairman Carlos Ghosn secretly received improper remuneration worth about one billion yen from a joint venture set up with Nissan Motor Co. <7201> in the Netherlands.

Details of the alleged improper pay were uncovered by a joint investigation by the two Japanese automakers following Ghosn's Nov. 19 arrest. The probe results were reported at a board meeting of Mitsubishi Motors on Friday.

"We'll consider appropriate action, including a possible damages claim," Mitsubishi Motors Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko told reporters.

Ghosn, who was also Nissan's chairman, has been indicted for allegedly transferring his personal financial losses to Nissan and paying dubious funds to a Saudi businessman related to the loss transfer, as well as underreporting his compensation at the company.

According to Mitsubishi Motors' announcement on Friday, in April 2018, the two automakers provided a total of about 15.62 million euro as service fees to the Dutch joint unit, launched in June 2017.

Of the funds, about 7.82 million euros was paid to Ghosn by around November under an alleged improper agreement between him and the Dutch unit to appoint him managing director.

Mitsubishi Motors said it had not been aware of the payment to Ghosn before receiving related information from Nissan after his arrest. Jiji Press