Ghosn, Once Freed on Bail, Back under Arrest

Tokyo, April 4 (Jiji Press)--Japanese prosecutors served a fresh arrest warrant on former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn on Thursday, nearly a month after he was freed on bail, following his 108-day detention on charges of financial misconduct. Ghosn, 65, was rearrested on additional breach of trust charges under Japan's corporate law, for allegedly inflicting losses totaling 5 million dollars on Nissan between December 2015 and July 2018, through improper transfers of company funds to Oman. He is suspected of transferring to a firm effectively owned by him part of the funds sent from a Nissan subsidiary to a sales agent in Oman. It is unusual for anyone on bail to be arrested. The rearrest followed an early-morning raid by prosecutors at his camera-monitored residence prepared for his bail. This was the fourth arrest for the once-esteemed automotive executive. His initial arrest was made on Nov. 19, on charges of underreporting his executive pay. The second and third warrants, including on suspicion of trying to have Nissan shoulder his personal financial losses, were served while he was held in the Tokyo Detention House. Ahead of his release on March 6, Ghosn issued a statement claiming that he is innocent. On Wednesday, he said on Twitter that he planned to hold a press conference on April 11. Believing that the so-called "Oman-route" remittances were at the core of the Ghosn scandal, Nissan has offered full cooperation with the investigation by the special squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, according to informed sources. The money transferred under the Oman-route scheme is believed to have totaled 32 million dollars or more, the sources said. Ghosn is seen to have annually transferred 3 million to 5 million dollars from Nissan's so-called CEO reserves, or funds that could be spent at the chief executive officer's discretion. Some of the funds are suspected to have been used for the purchase of a cabin cruiser for his family, according to the sources. Last month, Tokyo District Court notified the prosecution and Ghosn's defense team of its plan to start his trial in September at the earliest. With the fourth arrest of Ghosn, however, it became uncertain when his trial will begin. Moreover, the trial seems certain to take longer than initially expected. END