TOKYO: Japanese authorities on Monday hit former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn (pictured) with a fresh charge of aggravated breach of trust, the fourth formal indictment against the auto sector tycoon.
Hours after prosecutors filed the new indictment, Ghosn’s legal team requested the executive be released on bail.
The 65-year-old strenuously denies all allegations against him and insists they have been cooked up in a “plot” by Nissan executives wary of his plans to bring the Japanese car giant closer to its French partner Renault.
According to a statement from the Tokyo’s prosecutors’ office, Ghosn is accused of funnelling millions of dollars in Nissan funds to a dealership in the Middle East and syphoning off around five million dollars for personal use.
The transfers were made “with the purpose of benefiting himself by receiving part of the money”, allege prosecutors.
Shin Kukimoto from the Tokyo prosecutors’ office told reporters in Tokyo the indictments were filed “after we collected enough evidence for guilty verdicts”.
Nissan itself said it had filed a criminal complaint against its former boss “after determining that payments made by Nissan to an overseas vehicle sales company via a subsidiary were in fact directed by Ghosn for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint”.
Experts believe these are the most serious charges yet against Ghosn since he was dramatically arrested on November 19 as he landed in his private jet at a Tokyo airport.
Ghosn has post won bail once before — but under strict conditions not to leave the country and to live under surveillance. — AFP
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