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Court turns down Ghosn's request to attend Nissan board meeting on Tuesday

64 Comments
By Aina Tanaka and Maki Shiraki

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64 Comments
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OMG. Ghosn is really a fighter.

21 ( +26 / -5 )

Ghosn should be allowed to attend the meeting. I am sure he will offer a very good plan to impress everyone.

6 ( +12 / -6 )

What a strong person, he should and by every sense of the word has the right to do so. Saikawa and the French are lowlifes for what they did.

14 ( +19 / -5 )

Ghosn is seeking permission to attend the board meeting, the person said, declining to be identified because the information has yet to be made public. The court is expected to decide whether it will give Ghosn permission as early as Monday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

Information is not public but the Yomiuri is already reporting it........

All a part of the game!

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Would the Americans/ Canadines allow Meng Wanzhou to attend a Huawei board meeting? Second, for a guy who was being mistreated in prison, he is good shape. I wonder if Ghosn's family was lying about his treatment in prison.

-28 ( +6 / -34 )

It’s on! Unless Saikawa gets on the hotline to his buddies ‘the prosecutors’ to make sure it doesn’t happen.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Would the Americans/ Canadines allow Meng Wanzhou to attend a Huawei board meeting? 

Is she being prevented now? She might need to join via video conference, but I don't think she's being prevented from communicating with the outside world, or doing her job, is she? (Please correct me if I'm wrong. In the meantime, I'll google around for conditions of her release into house arrest.)

8 ( +10 / -2 )

The guards outside Nissan's front gate will not let him in since he is not considered as a Nissan personnel.

I believe he knows that well. It's just going to be a media show and that is what his legal team is aiming.

-11 ( +4 / -15 )

Ghosn is out and I'm totally happy for him. He deserves the right to defend himself. This case has opened people's eyes to Japan's legal system and how close corporations are to the government.

One observation I noticed the other day was a kind of "aha" moment. I was driving down the street when a police car pulled out in front of me. I rarely see their cruisers up close but this time he was right in front of me. Japanese police cars are quite clean and look aggressive. I looked closely at the rear of the car to identify the brand.

Well, what do you know? You've already got the answer in your head. It was a Nissan Teana. Now, that shouldn't mean much in the grand scheme of things but nonetheless they are in business with each other. Money exchanges hands with Japan's police force and this automaker.

Let this sink in for a minute.

Accused by Nissan of financial crimes.

Then arrested upon arrival by Japanese police that just so happen to be driving Nissans.

After that, they threw Ghosn in the back of a Nissan. *They have the vans too.

Forget throwing this guy under the bus, they threw him under a Nissan that he helped make.

The ultimate insult.

The accusers would like for you to overlook this little tidbit on information. You should not When you have multi-million dollar agreement by Nissan and the NPA for vehicles and vehicle support it should raise a few flags.

14 ( +20 / -6 )

Taj. You mentioned video conferencing in the huawei case.

I think you might be onto something becuase it could be a way out for Ghosn. Just hope his attornies read JT.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I hope not but I guess it will be declined because they might see it as him wanting to either "tamper with evidence/witnesses" or afraid that he might wanna take revenge or some other poor silly excuse. Let's hope he can join, wanna see the look on Saikawa's face.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Taj. You mentioned video conferencing in the huawei case.

I think you might be onto something becuase it could be a way out for Ghosn. Just hope his attornies read JT.

No, I'm pretty sure he is restricted from that. He was basically restricted from internet, text, email, and phone calls outside a few people. I think he's also restricted from using a computer, except for one at his lawyers office that is not connected to internet.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@alwaysspeakingwisdom

for a guy who was being mistreated in prison, he is good shape. I wonder if Ghosn's family was lying about his treatment in prison.

I am curious - From the little you can see of him. how do you think he should look? A bloodied nose, black eyes, and broken teeth? Should he be wheeled out in a chair or unconscious, in order to 'prove' mistreatment?

16 ( +18 / -2 )

Wonderful!! The actual allegations aside, I have mad respect for Ghosn for being so strong throughout all this where others would have been lost in desperation. Time for Japan and those double standard backstabbers to get a good dosis of Western payback.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

@Akie wrote

"Do you think that Trudeau would be arrested when he visits Japan at an airport if Abe made a request and only a request ?"

This shows you have not the slightest idea what is going on. The correct analogy would be whether US police would arrest a Canadian businessman at a US airport if Japan had issued a warrant for his arrest and requested extradition to Japan. The answer is yes, of course, because the US and Japan have an extradition agreement.

Japan's legal system dates to the Meiji revolution in 1868 whereas Canada's to at least the 1700s, so Canada's is at least twice as good as Japan's, right?

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I hope he will be granted permission, though I doubt it.

Ghosn is a hero and never deserved to be treated like this!

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Look at that picture. Remind me NEVER to become a high-profile person!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

In what capacity would he attend?  If he is no longer Chairman, then what?

And what exactly would this achieve?

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Looks like Ghosn has taken to wearing a baseball cap. It kind of suits him.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'm glad to see this, Goshn will not be cowed by bullies and lowlifes like the guy who had him thrown under a bus saikawa... as well as other nationalists behind the scenes pulling strings to destroy him.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

The guards outside Nissan's front gate will not let him in since he is not considered as a Nissan personnel.

And this you are wrong. He is still a member of the board of directors and has every right to attend if the court allows it.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall at this board meeting either way!

How much does anyone want to bet that if the court allows him to go, Saikawa will be suspiciously absent!

4 ( +7 / -3 )

alwaysspeakingwisdom Today  11:02 am JST

Would the Americans/ Canadines allow Meng Wanzhou to attend a Huawei board meeting?

Yes, if she was out of bail and was otherwise entitled to attend the meeting.

Second, for a guy who was being mistreated in prison, he is good shape. I wonder if Ghosn's family was lying about his treatment in prison.

Actually, if you compare the photo above with photos of him before his arrest, he does look like he's lost quite a bit of weight.

We also know with certainty that he was kept in an unheated cell, was given only rice-based food, and was questioned for hours a day without a lawyer being allowed present.

He was also not allowed to meet with his family or speak to visitors in any language other than Japanese.

Any southeast Asian or Latin American country would be criticized for such treatment, so why should Japan not be?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

If he's been sacked would he be permitted to partake in the discussions or ask questions?

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

If he's been sacked would he be permitted to partake in the discussions or ask questions?

Why do people keep asking questions like this? He is still a member in good standing of the board of directors. They want to try to remove him, but he has a right to defend himself to the board as well.

Of course as a board member he has the right to partake in discussions and ask questions too!

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Japanese management must be crapping their drawers right about now!!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

May not be chairman but is still a shareholder. Thus if the court allows has every right to attend a shareholders meeting. He does have shares after all.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Nissan would likely allow him to dial in by teleconference, 

Guarantee you they will mute him and not allow him to speak.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

i wonder why he’s wearing the cap of Stanford University.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"Actually, if you compare the photo above with photos of him before his arrest, he does look like he's lost quite a bit of weight.

We also know with certainty that he was kept in an unheated cell, was given only rice-based food,"

He was in jail. Do you expect them to feed him filet mignon with Sauvignon? In fact, he looks better now than before he went to jail.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Interesting argument that his jail wasn't so bad, because there are worse jails.

um...

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Meiyou

Not to be contrary, but baseball caps never suit anybody.  Except baseball players.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"Interesting argument that his jail wasn't so bad, because there are worse jails."

Well,there are worse jails. Especially in the country that is screaming about rights.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Well,there are worse jails. Especially in the country that is screaming about rights.

Of course the biggest thing here is that Ghosn hasn't been found guilty of any crimes and wasn't in jail but detention. He shouldn't be punished for an allegation that hasn't been proven in court, especially allegations of non-violent white collar crimes.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Why would he even want to go? He is not allowed to talk to any senior Nissan official. He'll have to sit there silently. If he says anything to any of them, it's a violation of his bail conditions. Besides, he's going to be voted off the board at the April 8 meeting anyway.

I think Ghosn needs to keep a low profile until his trial.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Of course the biggest thing here is that Ghosn hasn't been found guilty of any crimes and wasn't in jail but detention. 

So he was not in jail. Kosuge has cells with locks on the outside of the doors, a perimeter wall, no heating, poor food, I can't even begin to imagine how long the list of petty rules is, and has to speak to people through a glass patrician, to enhance isolation.

And also the time innocent until proven guilty.

What kind of perversion of the constitution is this?

8 ( +9 / -1 )

It would be interesting to know the grounds on which his request to attend a board meeting was denied. There is no real reason why his request should be denied.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

He shouldn't be punished for an allegation that hasn't been proven in court

He hasn't been punished yet.

-13 ( +0 / -13 )

@tina

108 days in solitary, not allowed to see family, no heat, poor meals, ruined life, etc and that's not punishment? you should hope your never "not punished" by our backward hostage justice system.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Would the Americans/ Canadines allow Meng Wanzhou to attend a Huawei board meeting? 

Yes, they would allow her to attend if the meeting were in Canada. The reason is because she still has a duty to shareholders, investors, and clients. When individuals are serving their sentences under house arrest, they are still permitted to attend these things via video conference or teleconference. It is a very normal occurence. They are not allowed to access company systems but they are permitted to attend these meetings. Especially given the fact that his company is who is accusing him and he has not had an opporunity to plead his case to his company. Also, board members still have a duty to attend such meetings.

However, this is Japan so I cannot comment on what is allowed or not allowed here.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I have been firmly against his detention and believe this is more of a coup than anything else, but still I think this request by Ghosn was a bit cheeky. There is little need for him to be there other than to somehow try to intimidate the Board or re-state his position. He would likely have tried to ask questions or make statements deflecting to others - that may have helped vent his justifiable frustration, but I don’t see that helping his case.

He should lie low, try to stay calm and fight his case on the merits, then deal with the Board issues if and when he is acquitted.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The court is right in not allowing Ghosn to attend a board meeting.  He might use what might remains of his power to intimidate other board members in order to make things look good for him. 

Ghosn might eventually be able to get out of this whole messy thing with the help of his new team of lawyers on some legal technicalities without actually going to prison.  Yet the facts still remain that he did use his power to spend an incredible amount of company money for his own personal purposes on multiple occasions. I have no respect for a guy like that.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Yet the facts still remain that he did use his power to spend an incredible amount of company money for his own personal purposes on multiple occasions. I have no respect for a guy like that.

Umm.....Nissan or Renault money? Any proof that it was illegal? RIght just news reports, and lynching him from that right?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

While it is good news for him to be out on bail . . . I am against the enormously selfish life styles of many of these high priced executives.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

He wasnt just kicked out of Nissan and Mitsubishi, but of Renault as well.

You seem not to be aware but he was caught dirty handed with Renault as well, that was enough not to remove him from his functions but to deprive him of all his Renault-related deferred pension/bonus payments...

If he didn't do anything bad, it wouldn't have happened to him. He could consider himself lucky if he is not sued and convicted in France as well because there is huge pressure from the public.

Its a very good thing that Ghosn is free. He should never have been imprisoned for so long before his trial.

But it would be also a very good thing that IF he is guilty (which I believe is very likely), he spends a long time behind the bars.

Let's recall some facts:

CG failed to report about his deferred income. I'll let the judges decide the legal meaning, as there were effectively some CONDITIONS attached to effectively earning the money. CG for his defense said it wasn't his money because it was never in his bank account. He will then have trouble convincing the judge of this theory when trying to explain why he "hedged" in the forex market exactly the deferred amounts or salaries/bonuses.

CG lost money on his "hedges" and used Nissan to cover up for it. Fortunately in the end it didn't cost the company "officially" although this is probably already illegal. And then Nissan paid more than 10M$ to the guy who took over the trade. What exactly did the guy do to earn those 10m $ ?

CG made a subsidiary of Nissan whose purpose was to invest in startups, buy properties for his exclusive usage. He also probably never disclosed this "real income"

CG made Renault Sponsor the Chateau de Versailles which in return graciously offered him to use the premises for his daughter's wedding..

and thats only what we've been told so far

CG might think having an army of lawyers will help him get scot free. Like a lot of people in his position, he's been trying to outsmart the system to make a few extra millions because he thought he deserved more than the millions he was already paid. The problem with playing with fire is that you can get burnt

I would be very very surprised if with all this mess, he isn't going to get imprisoned for at least a few counts among this. Perhaps not the maximal 10 years but a few years in prison plus heavy fines is probably what he will get.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

I am curious. How can Ghosn intimidate board members? He was already stripped of his position within the company. Meaning the only power he has remaining is casting a vote on certain company decisions. Also, regardless of whether he is innocent or guilty, the reputation of he and the company are already damaged to those outside of Japan so it would only be poisonus for him to want his position back or to stay with Nissan.

Even if Ghosn is cleared of all charges, this is still a situation where and Nissan will go separate ways. The same for his relationship with Renault. As for allowing him access to the board meeting, it is well within his right as a board member and it does not compromise anything about the investigation.

The best case scenario for Ghosn and Nissan is that this will become a public relations nightmare for him and the company. If Ghosn is convicted, Nissan will still lose because it shows that the current people running the company have no idea what they are doing and allowed one man to move around so many parts and do so many things. If Ghosn is found innocent, Nissan still gets burned for the baseless witch hunt that will just seem as if they wanted him gone for selfish reasons that completely go against their shareholders. A not guilty decision would mean that Nissan diliberatly sabotaged their company just to have their CEO, who many people on the world stage viewed highly, removed from his position. As for Ghosn, he won't be able to return to Nissan or Renault because even if someone is found innocent, the shadow of the allegations will still remain. So at best he would play it off to leverage a position with another firm but it would not be at the same level.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@Fagui Curtain

For Ghosn to do half of what you just said would mean he would have to be the head of multiple departments across multiple countries as well as wearing many hats in order to do those things. I don't think you full understand how decisions are made and how money moves within a large corporation. Furthermore, how money moves along in an international corporation. Ghosn would need an entire team to do those things. A team across multiple departments. Also, you are telling me it took Nissan over 10 years to learn all of this? Was there no accounting department, was there no auditing department, and was there none of these members in the subsidiaries as well?

If one or two men pulled all of this off, Nissan will look like the biggest fool ever because two people ran so many scams across multiple departments and subsidiaries and not a single person was able to notice for over 10 years. It means they need to fire a lot of people.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

He hasn't been punished yet.

He has'nt even been found guilty yet.

It would be interesting to know the grounds on which his request to attend a board meeting was denied. There is no real reason why his request should be denied.

There is no reason, so no explanation is given because there is,'nt one to give.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

For those supporting or insisting on Ghosn's 'rights' to attend a meeting, much less participate in it ... I can assure you from personal experience, despite written contacts or law, as a non-Japanese, for all practical purposes, he has no such rights.

As a tenured Associate Professor at Jissen Women's College, I spent years, systematically excluded from participating in meetings I was required to attend.

There is nothing so dehumanizing than to be forced to attend, but only as a passive member of everyone else's audience.

Ironically, I was an Associate Professor of the the English Communication Department, and not so ironically, the school's homepage shows no full-time native speakers in that department.

From first hand experience, I can tell you exactly what 'communication' for Ghosn will mean. I sum it up with 'The 5 M's' ... 6 if he is lucky.

1 - Mellei ... to follow orders

2 - Marunage ... to pass the buck

3 - Mukanshin ... to complete ignore

4 - Madogiwazoku ... to be marginalized to a seat by the window

5 - Murahachibu ... to be outcast from the community

And as for that lucky 6?

6 - The Mandelbrot Set ... what goes around, comes around.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Proof the Japanese government is involved.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@JJJetPlane

i'm sorry for you

i KNOW how work corporations, i used to report directly with the CEO of a bank (basically i was #3) and i can tell you that said-CEO could do anything he wanted as he was surrounded by Yes-men only. including moving billions off-balance sheet in investments only a handful of people knew each a little bit about, none knowing exactly the whole story besides him.

Of course none of this was in the annual reports, and the auditors didn't see it or didn't want to see it.

Btw thats why i didn't stayed too long in that bank because its either you shut up and do what you're being told, or you decide to leave.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

the more ugly part of course was about hiding losses - in said bank

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

was it illegal?

Embezzlement.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

@Fagui Curtain

Naive? How so? What you just said justified what I said. As in the CEO would need an entire team. You said your CEO had a bunch of yes men. That would make all of them equally as liable as the CEO.

Also, I have worked at a high level at one of the largest banking firms in the world. Regardless of what you try to hide, money movement leaves trails. Auditors should be able to find these trails. If they can’t, as I also said, it’s clear that they don’t know how to do their jobs.

Also, I don’t know about Japanese banking and investment firms, but for us in America, we are forced to be completely away from our systems 10 consecutive business days. Every year we have to. This allows things that we may be trying to hide to be found more easily.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I have seen Jamie Dimon’s expense account get called into question for treating my department to something where his expense account had to list the members involved and certain individuals were questioned on that. I was one of them.

This is Jamie Dimon. A man that has more pull and power than Carlson Ghosn.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Proof the Japanese government is involved.

you bet they are, the nationalists in Abes camp are pulling the strings.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Some commenters insist on focusing on facts re Ghosn's alledged misconduct.

What a joke! The only available "facts" are convenient leaks in selected Japanese media.

And if these "facts" were so solid and considering the 150% support from Nissan to kill their former boss, why does it takes so long to build a winning case.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Last week his attorney dressed  him as laborer, this week as "Sokaiya", what's next...a TV show "Ghosn's Boardroom?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good try, but it's okay. Gives him time to see their cards...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

We have a saying in Asia, are u the great Nissan,???No, Nissan is a great bully . not even another penny for Nissan. We cannot support small people under the roof of a so called .....................................what a shame to all great good Japanese.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

was it illegal?

Embezzlement.

No. Aledged Embezzlement.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Rockin a Stanford hat.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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