Japanese prosecutors arrested ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn again on Thursday on suspicion of trying to enrich himself at the automaker’s expense, in a stunning twist for an executive who has called on the French government for help, reports Reuters.
The arrest, which outside legal experts described as a highly unusual in Japan for someone who has already been released on bail, marks yet another dramatic turn in the once-feted executive’s fall from grace.
Tokyo prosecutors said Ghosn had caused Nissan Motor Co $5 million in losses over a 2-1/2-year period to July 2018, in breach of his legal duties to the company and with the goal of personal gain.
The Kyodo news agency reported that the losses involved the shifting of funds through a dealer in Oman to the account of a company Ghosn effectively owned. The agency did not cite any sources.
“I am innocent. It’s hard, I have to admit it, and I call on the French government to defend me, and to defend my rights as a citizen,” Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, said in an interview aired on Thursday with French TV stations TF1 and LCI.
It was not clear where the interview was recorded.
In a statement from a U.S.-based spokesman, Ghosn said the arrest was an “outrageous and arbitrary” attempt to silence him by unidentified people at Nissan.”Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken,” he said in the statement.
Ghosn’s legal team said prosecutors had confiscated Ghosn’s wife’s passport and mobile phone, as well as documents needed to prepare for his trial.
No one was immediately available for comment at the Tokyo prosecutor’s office. Officials there were due to hold a regular briefing on Thursday.