The company will not appeal against the decision.
This week, Nissan received a guilty verdict from Tokyo District Court. This follows the scandal that engulfed former chairman Carlo Ghosn, and board member Greg Kelly many years ago. As we all know, this led to the ex-Nissan boss running away from the country in a dramatic manner.
In September 2019, Nissan reported misconduct by its former chairman and other individuals. Nissan and its external lawyers conducted an internal investigation and found that Greg Kelly and Carlos Ghosn had collaborated to underreport Ghosn’s compensation in Nissan’s annual securities reports.
These findings led to the Japanese Financial Services Agency placing an administrative monetary sanction on the company for material misstatements in its past annual securities reports on February 27, 2020. These acts were in violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which Nissan claimed was indisputable.
Nissan was convicted and sentenced to 200 million yen (or $1.7 million at today’s exchange rate). Nissan decided not to appeal after carefully considering the main penalty and the findings of the judgment. To prevent misconduct, the company stated that it had taken steps to improve its governance and to reform its corporate culture.
Ghosn is believed to be in Lebanon and has an Interpol warrant for his arrest. The former Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance chairman remains a fugitive at this point.
Ghosn isn’t afraid to criticize his former employer, despite the dire circumstances in which he finds himself at the moment. He stated that would be bankrupt by 2020. He stated that the company had become dull and mediocre over the next year.