Ghosn indicted on 2 new charges; Nissan cancels lease on his Tokyo apartment

Wow, anything to keep him out of the eyes of the public. I am betting that the prosecutors are playing a waiting game with the media reports on this and are expecting that it will die down, AND more importantly give them the opportunity to break him and force a confession!

I hope he stays strong!

Ghosn was charged with aggravated breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008,

While one sided story from his charge like that.

Story from Ghosn side what really happened is because he needs to be paid in dollar, and during financial crisis his bank need more collateral.

using Nissan's financial standing as collateral to secure currency exchange swaps, were undertaken with the approval of Nissan's board and officers.

Ghosn's wife, Carole, issued a statement on his continued detention on Thursday asking Japanese authorities for more information on her husband's health after he ran a fever, saying she was worried about his recovery.

Given isolation and long detention in Japanese judicial system, she can only meet him after six months or even longer than that.

So, they have cancelled the lease on his Tokyo apartment, which would make him homeless if he does get released.

and for understating his compensation for three years, from 2015 to 2017

Next month, they'll have to indict him on another fresh charge, for understanding his compensation for three years and one day.

One of the repeated mantras used to justify his incarceration has been the potential for him to tamper with evidence. An apartment would be one of the logical places to find such evidence (relating not just to Ghosn but to Nissan as well), so shouldn't cancelling the lease and removing his possessions also count as such?

Not having a private residence also makes him more of a flight risk in the eyes of the judges, so this seems very calculated on the part of Nissan.

Despicable.

And yet none of the executives of Olympus, Toshiba, Tanaka, Kobe Steel, TEPCO spent any time in jail.

I ask you what is worse, some of the crimes committed by the above companies, or allegedly hiding some salary or losses - it is not even comparable (read up on those companies, and the things they did are 100 time worse).

This is becoming comically sad.

This is a dictatorship country plain and simple. Coming up with arbitrary accusations to keep someone in jail for the sole purpose to make him confess something, in fact anything is disgraceful. This sort of violation of the rights of the defense is what notably makes a country a dictatorship. A country which does not have a justice system which fully guarantees the rights of any person to defend himself or herself when charged with accusations is not a democracy. The rights of the defense is a core principle of democracy as the freedom of press is. Japan does not have both of them.

And actually the Japanese are even more pathetic because on what is really going on here. Those prosecutors are clearly not independent and are being manipulated by the snakes at Nissan. They are making sure to first make Ghosn finished at Nissan, taking all his assets and waiting until Renault announces that they have to out Ghosn as Renault's director. Once it happens he will be released.

Ghosn was charged with aggravated breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008, and for understating his compensation for three years, from 2015 to 2017, according to a statement from his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru.

He had already been charged for under-reporting his income for the five years through 2015.

Breaking down into multiple allegations will give prosecutors more time to work for this case in expense of defendant life behind bar.

This is an odd case of tax evasion, if this happens to someone else usually a case is being built up before arrest.

Why even put them together? Just nail him for 2015 this time, then that'll give 2 the prosecutors 2 more years and 2 more BS charges to keep him locked up!

How can they cancel his apartment lease contract while he is still on the board of Nissan? Does that not contravene agreements between Ghosn and Nissan?

using Nissan's financial standing as collateral to secure currency exchange swaps, were undertaken with the approval of Nissan's board and officers.

The agenda did not seem to explain the point and the board did not seem to understand the significance.

As chairman of Nissan, Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the globe-trotting Ghosn had access to a string of residences around the world, including additional homes in Beirut and Rio de Janeiro.

All of them borne by Nissan?

Pretty low of Nissan.

Yes, that is his apartment building.

None of this is going to end well for either party.

This is an odd case of tax evasion

The current charges have nothing to do with tax evasion. They are for falsifying statements on FSA records.

As chairman of Nissan, Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the globe-trotting Ghosn had access to a string of residences around the world, including additional homes in Beirut and Rio de Janeiro.

Maybe more as permanent traveler than as chairman of Nissan to avoid some tax in Japan.

Maybe more as permanent traveler than as chairman of Nissan to avoid some tax in Japan.

Which tax? All of this circus has nothing to do with tax whatsoever, nothing. And Ghosn was not chairman of Nissan, he was chairman of Renault-Nissan, so the fact that they he was travelling a lot was part of his job.

To paraphrase from the Fukushima report:

"The fundamental causes of Ghosn's treatment are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to 'sticking with the programme'; our groupism; and our insularity. What must be admitted - very painfully - is that this was a miscarriage of justice 'Made in Japan'."

Wow, I didn't know Ghosn owned an apartment in my building! :D

"It is uncommon for defendants in Japan who deny their charges to be granted bail ahead of trial.

Otsuru earlier this week said Ghosn would likely be held until the trial which could begin in about six months"

Can he survive another half a year in this place? He's already lost 10 kg...

Come on, seriously ? !!!!!!!!!!!.................

Is it related to the fact that Mr. Ghosn refused to stop dealing with Iran???????

below article from daily mail online:

French carmaker Renault will maintain its presence in Iran while taking measures to avoid the risk of penalties for breaching renewed US sanctions, CEO Carlos Ghosn said Friday.

"We will not abandon it, even if we have to downsize very strongly," he said at the annual shareholders' meeting in Paris.

"When the market reopens, the fact of having stayed will certainly give us an advantage," he predicted.

Which tax? All of this circus has nothing to do with tax whatsoever, nothing.

So permanent traveler worked?

It's a vile system that is so far from fair, picking off anything remotely connected to him. That has nothing to do with the so far unspecified charges or future court case. If you are involved in any capacity as a manager in a Japanese company...Flee. Get out and chalk it up as a experience that didn't involve detention. Seriously flee.

Anyone else hear that train called the Japanese "justice" system railroading Ghosn? Don't crack, Ghosn! You turned around Nissan for then, maybe you can help them learn how justice is meant to be administered.

Ah_so: Smooth like cocoa butter.

@daito_hac:

It's not a dictatorship, it's zaibatsu!

Corporate control of government

Nissan was named as a second tier zaibatsu at the end of WWII, the plan was to break up all the zaibatsu in Japan but along came the Korean War and the U.S.decided it needed a industrially strong Japan rather than one dependant on outside help.

This was predicted, that the prosecution would game the intrinsically unjust system to prevent any hope of release.

As has been pointed out many times in various threads on this site, how out of sync with 21st century concepts of justice and fair trial the Japanese legal system is. Previously it was kept local and low key from an international point of view. That however has now changed.

Meanwhile, Nissan has also terminated the lease to Ghosn's luxury apartment in Tokyo, his legal team said on Friday. Nissan confirmed it had sent Ghosn's Japan-based legal team a termination notice on his residence in Azabu, one of Tokyo's priciest neighborhoods, on Monday, the latest step in ending its relationship with Ghosn, who is facing financial misconduct charges in Japan.

Most of employer in Japan, once you are being alleged even there isn’t any court decision yet, most them just don’t want to be involved with you anymore. Of course unless you have really nice employer.

No doubt they were saving those charges for the off chance he got released. You just can't win in this system. Barbaric.

Well, this proves that no one should buy anything from Nissan, a company that is using Japanese very old methods during the wars. Water dripping methods. I hope that all bad Japanese get this bad ways of treatments when they commit crimes in other countries. For example saikawa, he travels by Nissan expenses, travels in cars & drivers paid by Nissan, He dines by Nissan accounts. I bet he is getting Carlos salary and using C.E.O funds......................can anyone trust anything that Nissan have done till to-day ???. Why should we buy anything produced by Nissan ???. Admit it , bad mean-hearted Japanese exists, lots of them with saikawa. he can say anything but good Japanese are not fools. We are just tolerant of Nissan but not anymore because We are ashamed. By the way, saikawa , stop trying to be the good hero, We know u are not. u are what we Japanese call akuto.

Thats a new low Nissan.. Considering he is still legally Chairman of Renault, remember your main shareholder..

@Will Goode:

Hope that Lebanon will take action, but unfortunately, Lebanon already has critical issues: "

9 months till today & no government has been settled yet,

bad economic conditions,

bad political situation related to disunity between the political parties .............

Meritless and unsubstantiated, undertaken with the approval of Nissan's board and officers.

Aren’t Japanese prosecutors and their supporters the neighbors, friends, and family members we all desire to have? (Of course I being facetious.)

And japan wants to attract skilled foreigners? What a joke! They will never set foot in Japan with its “justice” stystem on a par with North Korea/Russia/China and Iran

@techall - yes, SCAP did not know what they were really dealing with - the zaibatsu morphed into the keiretsu. Nissan were only a second tier zaibatsu, but are now affiliated with Hitachi and Sompo Japan in the Mizuho group.

If he was Japanese, he would be able to hold a press conference and offer some BS apology and bow a few times and be home in time for dinner.

The more I read this story the more obvious it becomes that Japan is heavily biased.

The true face of japan. Woe unto you if you happen to be a foreigner and fall into the jaws of the 'justice' system. Woe unto you indeed.

Ghosn was charged with aggravated breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008, and for understating his compensation for three years, from 2015 to 2017, according to a statement from his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru.

For a moment I thought I was reading something from weeks ago, so I had to check and recheck dates. Haven't these charges been pressed before? Or they are just charging him on these just now, after the prosecutors released the info some time ago?

These prosecutors are a joke!

If he was Japanese, he would be able to hold a press conference and offer some BS apology and bow a few times and be home in time for dinner.

Agreed, but the thing is that Mr Ghosn has been claiming all along that he's innocent and a trial date let alone any verdict of guilt has yet to be determined. So apology no, home for dinner while on bail, yes; if he were a Japanese exec as you say.

With all the accusations in the media and draconian treatment he's received the Japanese people I've spoken with about it tend to believe he's guilty of something. The media is just as bad as the judicial system IMO.

Throw enough mud and it sticks I suppose.

So its not really asking for the money back, or even stopping the money, because it's in the future after this poor workaholic finally retires.

The breach of trust is even more laughable because again no money moved and they went on to trust him as their leader for ten years (2008-2018), so its not just non western standards of treatment, it's non western standards of charges, yet another Japanese PR nightmare.

They'll probably hold him long enough, so that they can finally get him on a real charge, VISA overstay :/

Clearly japan doesn't play fair game when it comes to justice. It would be interesting if they had a documentary or some type of footage of what is going on with this case, or a collaboration of all cases similar that went to trial so the international community can see and understand this. but as japan is the master of covering up their wrongs and dirt so the international community doesnt catch on, it would never air or be showed. japan expects the global community to worship their culture and way of thinking, yet they don't respect differences that obviously puts them in a position of comfort adjustment. Unfortunately they fail to realize it might be for their improvement.

Dirty little Nissan.

Agreed, but the thing is that Mr Ghosn has been claiming all along that he's innocent and a trial date let alone any verdict of guilt has yet to be determined. So apology no, home for dinner while on bail, yes; if he were a Japanese exec as you say.

With all the accusations in the media and draconian treatment he's received the Japanese people I've spoken with about it tend to believe he's guilty of something. The media is just as bad as the judicial system IMO.

look at all the other companies who’s executives knowingly lied about their financial records or cooked their books! Most of them never denied it and I don’t recall any of them being jailed and surprisingly after they held a press conference and bowed deeply they simply resigned and rode off into the sunset with their billions of yen.

@bones; I don't disagree with you re others who've already been caught out. But by saying ...

If he was Japanese, he would be able to hold a press conference and offer some BS apology and bow a few times and be home in time for dinner.

... you're assuming Ghosn is already guilty!

I'm saying that he's been found guilty of nothing so far and he claims he's innocent (time will tell) so why would he need to hold a press conference and apologise, even if he was Japanese?

If necessary, there will be two more new charges. The only way to get Ghosn out is to call the ambulance. Japan's legal system is very serious, even a Kenji dog can be charged if it bites.

The Empire Strikes Back! These are the droids we were looking for!

Bones* agree. It seems like the whole culture is in collusion. Running from the shadow. Disintegrated and in denial. Most seem to not want nor seek a more sophisticated view of the case, nor to look at it from different angles. Maybe the facts are too confronting to deal with? Lots of long silences if you try to bring it up which I don’t anymore, cause there’s no point. It’s deep.

Fascinating times. Gunna be a good movie one day. Who will play Saikawa?

The problem is the bail and defense-attorney systems exposed by Ghosn's problems, which have ruined the lives of many innocent Japanese defendants too. 

The Japan Bar needs to lobby the MOJ to change the rules to permit the right to the presence of a defense attorney during interrogation by police and public prosecutors, as well as changes to rules for bail in non-violent crimes.

The Bar does not advocate for these changes partly because it regards prosecutors as respected attorneys while defenders are almost held in contempt. Moreover, the motivation to become a defense attorney in Japan is low, because even a good defender will only win about 2% of cases under the present system. 

The training for judges, prosecutors, and defenders is antiquated too and needs revision.

In some sense, although suffering, Ghosn is luckier than most because he has the funds to hire a first-class defense team led by an ex-public prosecutor who knows how the game is played.

Until there is a root-and-branch revision of these parts of Japan's legal system, innocent defendants of all nationalities will suffer.

There are plenty of Japanese attorneys who sympathize with Ghosn's problems but they are hamstrung by the Japan Bar and MOJ.

Another baseless “charge” against Ghosn.

Japan’s legal system is in many ways on par or even worse than China’s. Many of the prisoners innocent and are in prison because they are coersed into confessions through torture techiniques such as isolation, hours of non-stop verbal and emotional abuse, etc.

Ghosn done no where near what some other Japanese executives have done, which have even resulted in deaths/injuries of customers or employees. Japan’s legal system is nothing but a “tool” for the powerful families, zero justice in Japan.

Who dictates the Law in this Country Nissan or other Corporations ?

I hope the other Japanese Board members are subjected to the same level of financial scrutiny that is currently being applied to Ghosn.