Nissan says Ghosn received $9mn from a Nissan-Mitsubishi JV

Arrested auto executive Carlos Ghosn improperly received $9 million in compensation from a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the companies said on Friday.

A joint investigation by the companies has found that Ghosn, ousted as chairman from both automakers, received the compensation without discussing it with the two other board members of the joint venture, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, and Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko.

Nissan said on Friday that it would consider ways to recover the full amount from Ghosn, and Mitsubishi said it would consider ways to hold him responsible.

Ghosn denies the charges against him. His lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, could not immediately be reached by telephone on Friday.

Nissan holds a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors.

Ghosn, arrested and detained in Tokyo since November 19, has been indicted in Japan on charges of under-reporting his salary for eight years through March 2018 and temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan during the global financial crisis.

The latest allegations are likely to add pressure on the Japanese automakers' partner Renault to cut ties with Ghosn. Unlike Mitsubishi and Nissan, Renault has kept Ghosn as CEO and chairman, but its biggest shareholder, the French government, has been urging it to replace him.

The French automaker holds around 43 percent of Nissan, the biggest partner in the alliance by sales and which in turn holds a non-voting 15 percent stake in Renault. Mitsubishi became the smallest member of the three-way automaking alliance when Nissan in 2016 took a 34 percent stake in the company.