Ghosn said to be held in 'cold' detention cell as misconduct allegations are investigated

Carlos Ghosn is being held at Tokyo's detention center that is known for an austere regime.

The cell is a far cry from Ghosn's usual luxury lifestyle and includes restrictions on sleeping during the day and a requirement to wear a mask when meeting with visitors to prevent the spread of disease.

The detention house is "pretty cold at this of time year," internet entrepreneur and convicted fraudster Takufumi Horie told his followers on Twitter.

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday approved Ghosn's detention for a further 10 days. According to Japanese law, Ghosn can be held in custody for up to 23 days without being charged.

Shin Kukimoto, deputy public prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, confirmed media reports that is being held at the Tokyo Detention Center. He declined to comment on whether Ghosn had admitted to allegations of financial misconduct.

Ghosn was arrested on Monday after an internal investigation triggered by a tip-off from an informant revealed that he had allegedly engaged in wrongdoing, including personal use of company money and under-reporting of his earnings, for years. Greg Kelly, the only American on Nissan's board, was also arrested on Monday and accused, like Ghosn, of financial misconduct,

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper said Ghosn had given Kelly orders by email to make false statements on his remuneration. Tokyo prosecutors likely seized the related emails and may use them as evidence, the paper said.

The Yomiuri, Japan's biggest-circulation daily, cited unnamed sources as saying that Nissan's internal investigation found that Ghosn had since 2002 instructed that about $100,000 a year be paid to his elder sister as remuneration for a non-existent advisory role.

Nissan had found through the investigation that Ghosn's sister had in fact been living in and managing a luxury apartment in Rio de Janeiro that the company had bought through an overseas subsidiary but had done no advisory work for the automaker, the paper said.

Nissan provided Ghosn with six houses, including residences in Tokyo and New York, a company official said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. His other company-funded properties included homes in Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam, reports said.

Prosecutors said Ghosn may have undeclared income of as much as 5 billion yen ($44 million). As more details begin to emerge, the actual number may be higher, an official said Thursday.

Nissan was holding a board meeting Thursday to oust Ghosn as chairman. Renault's board on Tuesday kept Ghosn in his posts as chairman and CEO but appointed Renault Chief Operating Officer Thierry Bollore as deputy CEO with the same powers as Ghosn.

Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report

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