Mitsubishi dismisses Chairperson Carlos Ghosn following his arrest for financial misconduct
Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko will be the interim chairperson.
Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors on Monday dismissed Chairperson Carlos Ghosn, almost a week after he was arrested in Tokyo for allegedly under-reporting his earnings. Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko will be the company’s interim chairperson, Reuters reported.
Ghosn – a French citizen of Lebanese descent who was born in Brazil – had played a major role in the formation of a strategic partnership between Nissan, its French partner Renault and Mitsubishi Motors. Japanese prosecutors said Ghosn reported his income as 4.987 billion yen instead of the actual 9.998 billion yen between 2011 and 2015, according to AFP. He allegedly reported a compensation of 730 million yen for the 2017 financial year, much lower than the 1.1 billion yen he had reported the year before.
Nissan dismissed Ghosn on Thursday, while Renault replaced Ghosn with a temporary deputy chief executive on the request of the French government on Wednesday. The French government holds 15% stake in Renault.
Nissan was close to bankruptcy in 1999 when Ghosn joined as its chief operating officer from Renault. He became the company’s chief executive officer in 2001 and helped turn around its fortunes. He retired from the post last year but remained the chief executive and chairperson of Renault. The Nissan-Renault partnership was expanded in 2016 to include Mitsubishi.