Carlos Ghosn re-arrested on fresh allegations

Japanese prosecutors re-arrested Nissan Motor Co Ltd's ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn on Friday on fresh allegations of making Nissan shoulder $16.6 million in personal investment losses, dashing chances he would be released on bail imminently.

Ghosn now could face another 10 days in detention.

The move comes a day after a Tokyo court unexpectedly rejected prosecutors' request to extend Ghosn's detention, which raised the possibility that he could go free on bail as early as Friday.

Prosecutors, whose prolonged detention of Ghosn has attracted international criticism, said: “The accused was responsible for managing Nissan’s overall operations and for dutifully fulfilling his role as a chief executive not to cause damage to Nissan and its subsidiaries ... but he took action that betrayed his role and caused financial damage to Nissan.”

Ghosn was first arrested on 19 November for allegedly underreporting his pay by about 5bn yen between 2011 and 2015. In addition, he and former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who is also being detained, are alleged to have continued to underreport Ghosn’s income through to March this year, increasing the overall underreported amount by 4bn yen.

Public broadcaster NHK said the 64-year-old had denied the latest allegation. He and Kelly have also denied two other charges of financial misconduct in relation to Ghosn’s salary.

Prosecutors now have 48 hours to question Ghosn over the latest allegation, and can then apply to detain him for 10 days, with the option of requesting a further 10-day extension.

Kelly, who was not re-arrested on Friday, is seeking bail, according to a court statement.

Ghosn, however, faces spending Christmas and possibly the start of next year in his tiny cell at a Tokyo detention centre.

Friday’s dramatic turn of events came just hours after Ghosn vowed to clear his name. “Things, as they stand, are absolutely unacceptable,” he said through his lawyer, according to NHK. “I want to have my position heard and restore my honour in court.”

The justice minister, Takashi Yamashita, said foreign criticism of the length of Ghosn’s detention, during which he has been interrogated without his lawyers present, was “unwarranted”.

Ghosn has experienced a rapid fall from grace since he was first arrested as soon as he arrived in Tokyo on his private jet. The Frenchman, who was born in Brazil and is of Lebanese descent, is credited with saving Nissan from near-bankruptcy 20 years ago and of forging a successful alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors.