Carlos Ghosn said his inexplicable arrest by Japanese authorities on Nov. 19, 2018, was the result of "plot and treason" by top executives of Nissan Motor Company, Ltd who opposed his plan to strengthen the automaker's integration with its French partner, Groupe Renault.
Before his arrest and subsequent detention in Tokyo, Ghosn was flying high as the "miracle worker" who earned the nicknames "Le Cost Cutter" and "Mr. Fix It" for saving troubled automakers Renault and Nissan from bankruptcy.
Ghosn was Chairman and CEO of Renault and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and chairman of Nissan Motors and Mitsubishi Motors at the time of his arrest on orders of the Tokyo District Prosecutors. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is the world's largest carmaking alliance.
In his first media interview since his detention, Ghosn said he has "no doubt" Nissan executives are behind his downfall. He resolutely denied charges of financial misconduct, which cost him his top jobs at Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi Motors. Nissan said a whistleblower helped it uncover serious financial misconduct by Ghosn.
Ghosn's arrest is raising questions about the future of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which makes one in nine cars sold worldwide and employs more than 450,000 people.
During the interview with Nikkei, Ghosn rejected criticisms that he ran Nissan for nearly two decades as a "dictatorship."
"People translated strong leadership to the dictator, to distort reality" and for the "purpose of getting rid of me," he said.
Ghosn confirmed for the first time that "there was a plan" to integrate the three carmakers more closely. He said this integration had been discussed with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Ghosn said his plan was to give Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi "autonomy under one holding company."
There is speculation that Nissan executives were uneasy about the possibility of Renault and Ghosn taking full control of Nissan. The irony here is that Nissan sells more vehicles than Renault but only has a 15% non-voting stake in the French company. On the other hand, Renault owns more than 40% of Nissan.
In reaction to the interview, Nissan through a spokesman said: "the sole cause of this chain of events is the misconduct led by Ghosn."
Japanese prosecutors claim Ghosn conspired with his American executive Greg Kelly, a close friend, to hide around half of his income (amounting to $44 million) over five fiscal years starting 2010. They also allege Ghosn under-reported his salary by $36.8 million over the next three fiscal years, to avoid criticism his pay was too high.
Prosecutors have pressed formal charges over the first allegation that Ghosn under-reported his salary from 2010 to 2015. They have not pressed charges over the other claims.
Ghosn was re-arrested, but not indicted, on Dec. 21 on allegations he transferred personal investment losses worth $17 million to Nissan. He has been held since at Tokyo's Kosuge detention center.
"I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations," said Ghosn. "Contrary to the accusations made by the prosecutors, I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed."
