Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested over 'financial misconduct', company to fire the auto titan

Nissan accused its chairman, Carlos Ghosn, of "significant acts of misconduct".

Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, one of the world's best-known businessmen, was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday. (AFP)

New Delhi: Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, one of the world's best-known businessmen, was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday. Sending shockwaves through the auto industry, the arrest came in the wake of an investigation that found the auto titan of using the company's assets for personal use. Nissan accused its chairman of "significant acts of misconduct". The company said it had been investigating him for several months after receiving a whistleblower report and would now move to fire him. Meanwhile, Ghosn has not yet commented on the allegations. As per the report by AFP, Japan's public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said Ghosn had been arrested after being questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income. What Nissan claims? In a statement, Nissan said it had launched an investigation into both Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly several months ago, which showed that over many years both of them have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn's compensation. "Also, in regards to Ghosn, numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets, and Kelly's deep involvement has also been confirmed," the company said, reported AFP. The Kyodo news agency said Ghosn was suspected of understating his income by 5 billion yen, or around USD 44 million, over five years from 2011. It also reported that Kelly had been arrested. Who is Carlos Ghosn? • Nicknamed as Le Cost Killer Carlos, Ghosn is known as one of the world's best-known businessmen,  was born in 1954 in Brazil. • The 64-year-old businessman is known for overhauling Renault and Nissan starting in the nineties. • In 2016, Ghosn took charge at troubled Mitsubishi after Nissan threw it a lifeline. • He is credited with saving Nissan from bankruptcy through a series of hardnosed measures including closing plants and restructuring • He has instant name recognition in Japan, where he is a rare, high profile foreign executive. • Ghosn has been regarded as the glue holding together the sprawling alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi. (With inputs from AFP)