Nissan board issued a statement which said the decision to dismiss the two men was unanimous, the chairman and the executive director.
The move could potentially test the fate of the world’s biggest auto alliance, which was largely crafted and maintained over the past two decades by Ghosn’s leadership of both Nissan and Renault SA (RNLSY) , as reports suggest that the French carmaker is looking to name his replacement amid a broader push to deeper the alliance, possibly through a merger, despite increasing resistance from Nissan.
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However, Nissan re-affirmed its commitment to the alliance, in which it holds a 15% stake in Renault, while the Paris-based group commands a 43.3% ownership, and said it would leave the chairman’s role vacant while a search for a replacement is launched.
Ghosn is being held in Tokyo, the Public Prosecutors Office said Thursday and will be detained for at least ten days while officials investigate claims that the 64-year old mis-used company funds and under-stated his income with the assistance of Nissan’s representative director, Greg Kelly, who was also arrested in Tokyo.
Who is Carlos Ghosn?
- His hero status was so big that his life was serialised in one of Japan’s famous cartoon comic books
- The Brazilian-born boss of Lebanese descent and a French citizen says his background left him with a feeling of being different, which helped him adapt to new cultures
- In France he was known as Le Cost Killer, a comment on the deep cuts he made to revive Renault
- He was once tipped as a potential president of Lebanon, a move he eventually dismissed because he already had “too many jobs”
- In a 2011 poll of people the Japanese would like to run their country Mr Ghosn came seventh, in front of Barack Obama (ninth)
Find out more on: what are the accusations?
