Japanese prosecutors indicted Carlos Ghosn with a new charge of breach of trust the day his latest detention period was set to expire. Ghosn’s lawyers immediately responded with a bail request.
The latest charge alleges the former Nissan and Renault boss mishandled around $5 million from the Japanese car maker for personal use and follows his arrest on April 4.
“We are confident that we have the evidence to successfully prosecute all four cases,” an official from the prosecutor’s office said to Reuters.
According to the latest charge, Nissan sent two separate payments of $5 million to the account of an overseas dealership, with the same amount subsequently transferred from the dealership’s account to another in which Ghosn had an interest.
The former CEO has denied all charges, claiming he’s the victim of a coup from Nissan and accusing former colleagues of “backstabbing”. He also claimed that these colleagues acted as selfish rivals aiming to derail a closer alliance with Renault.
“Carlos Ghosn is innocent of the latest charges brought against him by the Tokyo prosecutors, aided and abetted by certain Nissan conspirators,” a Ghosn representative said in a statement.
Nissan is reportedly going to reject a management integration proposal from Renault and will instead propose an equal capital relationship, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, which cited inside sources.
