Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn denies burdening company with personal losses
Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has denied passing personal trading losses to the car manufacturer, according to his lawyer.
Japanese media reported yesterday that the ousted chairman may have transferred losses of ¥1.7bn (£11.7m) from a derivatives contract to the company in 2008.
While Ghosn has acknowledged he consulted Nissan about the contract, he denies passing the losses to the firm, his lawyer Motonari Otsuru told Bloomberg.
The comments come amid reports that Nissan’s auditor investigated transactions at the company relating to Ghosn’s alleged misconduct but found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Ernst & Young Shin Nihon questioned Nissan executives on several occasions about the purchase of luxury houses and stock appropriation rights, a source told Reuters.
Last week Ghosn was ousted as chairman of the car company following a board meeting at the company’s headquarters in Yokohama.
The long-serving executive has experienced an abrupt fall from grace after he was arrested last Monday on suspicion of financial misconduct.
Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa has pinned the blame on Ghosn and former representative director Greg Kelly, who was also fired.
But the company has said it will take independent advice on how to improve its governance of director compensation.
Ghosn has not yet commented publicly on allegations that he purchased expensive overseas homes for personal use using Nissan funds and that he under-reported his salary.
A spokesperson for Ernst & Young Shin Nihon said the firm does not comment on individual cases. Nissan has been contacted for comment.