Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn apparently diverted about 470 million yen from a joint venture between Nissan and Renault S.A. for his personal expenses, such as gifts, and expenditures unrelated to the venture's corporate purposes, Nissan said in a report that has been submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The "Improvement Measures Status Report" details the findings of an internal Nissan investigation into suspected financial misconduct by Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon in late December while out on bail in Japan.
According to Nissan and the report that was submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Jan. 16, the Netherlands-based joint venture, Renault-Nissan B.V. (RNBV), disbursed at least 3.9 million euros -- about 470 million yen at current exchange rates -- for expenditures including the following: costs related to a birthday party for Ghosn held at the Palace of Versailles in France, inviting and entertaining guests at a carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Cannes Film Festival in France, purchasing gifts made by luxury jewelry brand Cartier; and attorney's fees for a law firm in Lebanon.
These "RNBV expenditures appear to be personal expenses of Mr. Ghosn and unrelated to RNBV's corporate purposes," the Nissan report said.
Furthermore, between 2009 and 2018, RNBV made 2.37 million euros (about 290 million yen) in donations to 10 institutions, according to the report. Nine of these institutions were schools or nonprofit organizations in Lebanon, a nation where Nissan "conducted little or none of its business," the report said. Most of these donations were made in Ghosn's name, and it is highly likely they were "unrelated to RNBV's business."
Ghosn and his family also used corporate jets owned by Nissan and Renault for private purposes. Nissan paid 4.4 million dollars (about 480 million yen) of the costs for these flights, and RNBV shouldered at least 5.1 million euro (about 620 million yen).
The report also indicated that former Representative Director Greg Kelly misreported his executive compensation. Kelly earned more than 100 million yen annually from 2013 to 2017, but he allegedly concealed a total of 626 million yen to avoid these figures being mentioned in annual securities reports.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
