Carlos Ghosn re-arrested as former Nissan chair accused of dumping £13.1m in losses
Ex-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been re-arrested by Japanese authorities today, as fresh allegations surfaced of the executive dumping ¥1.85bn (£13.1m) in losses on his former firm.
Prosecutors have accused Ghosn of offloading a personal investment worth £13.1m in appraisal losses to Nissan in 2008. Additionally, he allegedly further inflicted damage on Nissan by having it deposit a total of $14.7m (£11.6m) on four occasions between June 2009 and March 2012 into a related bank account.
The news comes after a Tokyo district court unexpectedly rejected a bid to extend Ghosn's detention in prison yesterday, which indicated that he could have been released on bail as early as this afternoon.
Prosecutors have also raided Ghosn's home in Tokyo today in search of evidence, according to local news outlets.
The re-arrest, however, means he could be detained for at least another 10 days in prison, where he has been in custody since he was arrested in November on initial allegations of financial misconduct.
Fellow former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who was arrested and detained alongside Ghosn, also had an extension to his detention denied yesterday. His lawyer has requested his release.
Both men have repeatedly stated their innocence.
An internal probe at Nissan into Ghosn and Kelly's activity is ongoing. Nissan said after the former chairman's arrest that it had unearthed multiple instances of possible wrongdoing.
A Nissan spokesman declined to comment on the re-arrest, telling Reuters that only that the internal investigation was ongoing and expanding into new areas. Renault declined to comment.