Ex-Nissan boss broke law, inquiry team finds
Print Edition
An external committee reviewing governance at Nissan Motor Co said yesterday there was enough evidence to suspect violations of laws and the private use of company funds by ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Following a three-month audit of Nissan’s governance after a scandal that shook the global auto industry, the committee put the blame squarely on what it called Ghosn’s concentration of power. It also acknowledged Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa’s role in Ghosn’s salary arrangement at the heart of the scandal.
Twenty years to the day since French automaker Renault SA agreed to rescue Nissan, the committee described a corporate culture at Nissan “in which no one can make any objections to Mr Ghosn,” who was “in a way deified within Nissan as a savior who had redeemed Nissan from collapse.”
The group issued 38 recommendations to bolster Nissan’s governance, including that top executive positions at the Japanese carmaker should not be held by people serving in executive positions at Renault or junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
Retooling the alliance
It also proposed that the majority of directors, including the chairman of the board, be independent outside directors and that the role of company chairman be abolished.
The recommendations from the external, seven-member committee come weeks after Nissan and Renault said they would retool their alliance, one of the world’s biggest automakers, to break up the all-powerful chairmanship previously held by Ghosn.
“There are facts sufficient to suspect violations of laws and regulations, violation of internal rules and private use of company funds and expenses ... by Mr Ghosn,” the committee said in its report.
It also singled out Nissan director Greg Kelly, who too has been indicted, for his alleged role in helping Ghosn avoid oversight, and said that Saikawa had signed documents regarding compensation Ghosn would receive after retirement.
“It is clear that there are issues requiring improvement with respect to Nissan’s governance as it could not prevent the misconduct.”
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