Nissan to oust boss Carlos Ghosn due to 'serious misconduct'

Carlos Ghosn is set to be removed from his role as Nissan chairman and representative director after an internal investigation found that he has under-reported his salary to Japanese authorities. The firm said it has also uncovered evidence of other "significant acts of misconduct" by Ghosn.

Nissan said the misconduct, which involved both Ghosn and fellow representative director Greg Kelly, came to light following a whistleblower report, prompting an internal investigation that has been ongoing for several months.

According to Japanese news agency Kyodo, Ghosn is believed to have understated his income by 5 billion yen over five years, a total of around £34 million.

The firm said that it has passed on the information gathered to the Japanese public prosecutor's office, and there are multiple media reports, including from Japanese public broadcaster NHK, that Ghosn has been arrested by authorities in the country. Kyodo has also reported that Kelly has been arrested.

In Japanese business, the representative director role is the most senior executive managing role, reporting directly into the board of directors.

As well as his role with Nissan, Ghosn is the chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which encompasses ten brands and is one of the world's three largest car groups.

In a statement, Nissan said: “The investigation showed that over many years, both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Ghosn’s compensation.

“Also, in regard to Ghosn, numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets, and Kelly’s deep involvement has also been confirmed.