Nissan shareholders eject ex-chief Ghosn from board

Shareholders at Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co on Monday voted at an extraordinary meeting in Tokyo to eject former company chairman Carlos Ghosn from the board. The vote finalizes Ghosn's forced departure from the company he rescued from near-bankruptcy two decades ago.

Ghosn, who is in custody for a second time after being rearrested by Tokyo prosecutors while out on bail, is facing several charges of financial misconduct, including underreporting his Nissan salary for a decade.

The allegation behind his current arrest is potentially even more serious, as it could show he used company funds for his own purposes: He is accused of having transferred Nissan money to a dealership in Oman while siphoning off several millions for himself — to purchase a luxury yacht, among other things.

Shareholders also voted to remove co-accused Greg Kelly from the board of directors, while voting in the chairman of allied automaker Renault, Jean-Dominique Senard.

Read more: Who's the man who could bring down Japan's auto industry?

Flat denial

Ghosn denies any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a boardroom coup.

On Friday, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Ghosn, who was rearrested last Thursday, can be kept in custody until at least April 14 for interrogation by prosecutors, and that this term can be extended for a further 10 days.

He previously spent more than 100 days in custody at a Tokyo detention center, before being released on $9 million (€8 million) bail around a month ago.

tj/ng (AFP, Reuters)

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