Former Nissan and Renault chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn has been granted bail by a Japanese court, four months after being arrested for financial misconduct, with Japanese media reporting that could be released from prison today (Tuesday).
Ghosn was arrested last year, and has been charged with a number of misconduct charges relating to his time in charge of Nissan. He has repeatedly denied all the charges.
After having several previous bail requests denied, the 64-year-old recently appointed a new legal team. A fresh appeal has now been successful, with the Japanese court setting bail at one billion yen (£6.8 million).
The terms of the bail have not been revealed. It had previously been denied because he was considered a flight risk, and is only granted if the court considers a suspect is unlikely to flee or destroy evidence.
While the charges Ghosn has been arrested for relate solely to his time leading Nissan, he has also been removed from his chairman and CEO role at Alliance partner Renault.
Ghosn's multi-million-pound misconduct allegations: the latest
In February, Renault revealed it had asked judicial authorities to look at a 50,000 euro (£44,000) contribution it made that may have been used to fund Ghosn's wedding.
The evidence, which the French firm says came to light during compliance audits undertaken following Ghosn's arrest last November. Renault says that the discovery, the first suggestion of Ghosn using Renault funds for his "personal benefit", requires "further checks to be carried out".
The contribution was part of a larger charitable donation agreement between Renault and the Chateau de Versailles, which allowed the firm to use the palace for events. Ghosn held his wedding at Versaille in 2016, and it is thought he used the venue as part of its arrangement with Renault.
According to The Financial Times, Ghosn's lawyer issued a statement offering to repay the money. It read: “Carlos Ghosn paid for all of his wedding expenses. The event space at Versailles was made available to him without charge, and Mr Ghosn was unaware that the use of the space would be charged against Renault's allotted usage.”
Renault initially kept Ghosn as chairman and CEO following his initial request, but he recently stood down from both roles to focus on his forthcoming court case in Japan.
Former Michelin CEO Jean-Dominique Senard has now been named director and chairman, while Ghosn's former deputy, Thierry Bolloré, takes over as CEO in a move to new structure less reliant on one individual.
The French government earlier revealed that Ghosn decided to resign after reports he would be ousted from the French car maker in an emergency board meeting. The decision is believed to be an attempt to heal the rift between allies Nissan and Renault that has developed since the scandal broke.
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Granted bail
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Now a wedding?
He looks like a skeezy little scammer and, as it turns out, he IS a skeezy little scammer!
Good for Renault
Renault is back to stability now, since the customer may feel more confidence, which was somewhat lost due to the company's or' more likely, its CEO's lack of decisiveness