In a new development of the Carlos Ghosn’s legal case, the former Nissan and Renault boss is alleged to have hidden part of his compensation at Nissan out of fear that he would be removed from Renault.
Former Nissan vice president, Hari Nada, who has been cooperating with Japanese prosecutors against his former boss in return for immunity, said the motor industry mogul feared that he would be forced out of Renault if the French government learned how much he made at Nissan.
This was presented before a Tokyo District Court on Thursday as Nada took the stand in the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who is charged with helping Ghosn hide his millions in compensation over many years.
Nada alleged that Kelly shared this information with him, adding that Ghosn didn’t want to be fired if it became known how much compensation he was getting. “If he paid himself what he wanted and that was disclosed, the French state would have felt obliged to fire him,” Nada said.
Having fled to Lebanon a year ago, Ghosn maintains that he is innocent. He believes that he is a victim of a plot against him by Japanese Nissan executives who disagreed with his plans about the future of the company and a possible merger between Nissan and Renault.
Ghosn was scheduled to be questioned by the French judicial in Beirut next week, a plan thwarted by the current full lockdown in Lebanon forcing the French team to postpone the questioning until further notice.
