Carlos Ghosn, Former Chairman Of Nissan, Claims Innocence In Court In Tokyo

Ghosn was one of the most powerful heads of the auto industry just a few months ago. But on Tuesday, he arrived in the Tokyo courtroom disgraced but defiant, as he faces charges on under-reporting his income.

Ghosn says that he has been wrongly accused and all cases against him are unsubstantiated and meritless allegations. No compensation received from Nissan has remained undisclosed, he says.

One of the main charges against him is that he deferred a large amount of his pay and did not report them. However, Ghosn has refused such allegations, saying that all his accounting practices are perfect and above board.

Ghosn has been in custody after his arrest. Officials fear that evidence may be tampered or he may flee from the country if he is released.

 He has been accused of under-reporting his income by more than $44 million spread over 5 years. He has also been accused of manipulating the financial reports of Nissan. Further, he is said to have made the company absorb some of his personal investment losses.

Ghosn has said that his dedication towards reviving Nissan had been very fruitful. He had been able to change the company with a debt of 2 trillion yen in the year 1999 to a company with cash of 1.8 trillion yen in 2006. Nissan which was selling just 2.5 million cars in 1999 at a loss was selling 5.8 million cars in 2016 profitably.

He further says that all his actions were made in good faith and in integrity. He says that he had worked for the betterment of the company for two decades.

Ghosn has made his first public appearance after he was arrested on Nov 19. He claims that all claims about false financial reporting were false. He says that he is “wrongfully accused”.

Ghosn’s trial is expected to start only after six months.