The developments followed last month’s arrest of Carlos Ghosn, former chairman of the Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Company, who is accused of understating his salary by 3 billion yen ($27 million) between 2015 and 2017.
During his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires last week, French President Emmanuelle Macron asked Abe to help preserve the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance in the recent arrest of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, according to Mainichi Shimbun.
The Japanese newspaper also reported that Abe, in turn, had not responded to the French President’s request.
The developments come a week after Japanese media reported that former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn’s incarceration would be extended for another 10 days, following his arrest November 19 along with fellow alleged co-conspirator Greg Kelly, another Nissan director, on fraud charges.
Prosecutors accuse Ghosn of deliberately understating his salary by some 3 billion yen ($27 million) between 2015 and 2017, a crime which may land him in prison for up to 10 years.
Nissan, in turn, confirmed that its board of directors had dismissed Ghosn as its chairman and voted to remove a representative director of Nissan’s board Greg Kelly.
Earlier, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi emphasised that they remained “committed” to their alliance, but failed to name an interim boss to stand in for Ghosn, who remains chairman of Renault.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which was founded in 1999, is the world’s leading car manufacturer. According to the alliance’s official website, it sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in 2017.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
