TOKYO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Carlos Ghosn, chairman of the Nissan Motor Co., Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. alliance, is to be arrested for allegedly violating a financial law, local media reported Monday.
According to the reports, Ghosn, 64, who was questioned Monday by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office, is facing arrest on suspicion of under-reporting his corporate salary, sources close to the matter said.
Investigators with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office have been looking at suspected violations of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and believe that Ghosn may have filed corporate financial statements and entries that were several hundreds of millions of yen (several millions of U.S. dollars) less than actual earnings, sources said.
In 1999 Ghosn became Nissan's chief operating officer and was charged with boosting the at-the-time ailing automaker's market and profit margins, under a capital alliance with Renault.
In 2000 Ghosn was promoted to president of Nissan and turned the automaker around through cost-cutting and restructuring measures, including the closure of some of the firm's plants.
Ghosn, a French citizen who was born in Brazil, became CEO in 2001 and convinced shareholders he would stay with the automaker until it had been fully rehabilitated.
Continuing with his aggressive cost-cutting and streamlining measures, he became Renault's CEO in 2005 and advocated for joint procurement and development under the Nissan-Renault alliance.
Nissan's headquarters in Tokyo were searched by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office for evidence related to the allegations against Ghosn, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said Monday evening.
A spokesperson for Nissan Motor said of the matter that "We are currently checking the facts".
