Ghosn – Muzzled – Bites Back After Nissan Board Ouster

AutoInformed.com on Video by former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn is shown on a screen during a news conference by his lawyers at Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo

Video by former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn is shown during a news conference by his lawyers at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo.

In a video shown to reporters today in Tokyo by Carlos Ghosn’s lawyers, the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman and ousted board member claimed he was the victim of rivals trying to stop a closer alliance between the automaker and French partner Renault.

“This is not about greed or dictatorship, this is about a plot, this is about a conspiracy, this is about a backstabbing,” Ghosn said. “I am innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me,” he said.

The video was apparently edited to remove the names of the conspirators and other potential legal – if legal can be used when applied to Japanese ‘law’ – problems. Two of the obvious Nissan execs to look at are Hiroto Saikawa, President, who among others, came under shareholder scrutiny for his protested innocence of having any knowledge of the scandal even though he was one of Ghosn’s “right hand men…” (translated from the Japanese and following). Saikawa punted to Toshiyuki Shiga, a director whose relationship with Ghosn goes back to the original Renault bailout and revival plan of the bankrupt Nissan. He said it took him time to digest what had happened. “It was hard to believe.. gradually heard the findings of the internal investigation.. I had to accept it as a fact… I was in a state of soul searching…” Shiga, 65, was COO of the since 2005 and also served under Ghosn as vice chairman through 2017. He is not planning to not seek re-election when his term expires in June.

Stay tuned the saga is far from over.

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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One Response to Ghosn – Muzzled – Bites Back After Nissan Board Ouster

  1. Reuters – Political interventions might not be the best way to help ousted car executive Carlos Ghosn, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told FranceInfo radio on Tuesday.

    “I am not certain that political interventions are necessarily the best way to help,” said Le Maire, in response to calls by Ghosn’s wife Carole for the French government and President Emmanuel Macron to do more to help Carlos Ghosn.

    Japanese prosecutors last week took the highly unusual step of re-arresting Ghosn, who faces charges of financial misconduct which he denies.

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