Nissan delays decision on Ghosn successor

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Nissan Motor failed on Tuesday to nominate a successor to Carlos Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest and dismissal for alleged financial misconduct last month, Reuters reported.

Ghosn could remain in detention until the end of the year because Tokyo prosecutors plan to rearrest him on a fresh claim of understating his income, the Sankei newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday.

A three-member panel of external Nissan directors put off a decision on recommending a replacement for the jailed Ghosn.

The carmaker declined to comment.

Ghosn's arrest to face accusations including the under-reporting of income has triggered new attempts by Nissan to weaken Renault's control of their Franco-Japanese alliance.

Ghosn, 64, was the architect of the alliance and one of the best-known figures in the car industry.

Nissan has tasked former trade and industry official Masakazu Toyoda, retired Renault SA executive Jean-Baptiste Duzan and race car driver Keiko Ihara with the selection of a new chairman, which is to be submitted to the rest of the board at their next meeting on December 17. Changes to the board must be approved by shareholders.

Ghosn has been detained in Tokyo since his November 19 arrest on suspicion of conspiring with former Nissan representative director Greg Kelly to understate his compensation by about half of the actual 10 billion yen (88 million U.S. dollars), over five years from 2010. Tokyo authorities on Friday extended their detention until the maximum December 10 for the alleged crime.

The Sankei daily said prosecutors plan to arrest Ghosn and Kelly on December 10 for the same crime covering the period from 2015 to 2017, during which the suspects allegedly understated Ghosn's income by about four billion yen.

If authorities approve the maximum detention for that case, Ghosn and Kelly would remain in custody until December 30, the paper said.

Source(s): Reuters