The Fall of the God of Cars: BBC

Japan arrested Carlos Ghosn, chairman of Nissan and citizen of Brazil, France and Lebanon, at the Tokyo airport in November 2018, initially charging him for under-reporting deferred compensation and eventually other financial crimes. Ghosn, also CEO of Renault, was known as a cost cutter, credited with saving Nissan from bankruptcy: “The two companies were linked under a strategic alliance first forged in 1999, and were joined in 2016 by the smaller Japanese firm Mitsubishi,” reports BBC News. “By 2017 the group was collectively producing more than 10 million vehicles a year.” Japan also arrested Greg Kelly, a US citizen. Family appeals to global leaders did not work and more than a year later, Ghosn fled Japan, an escape described as “audacious, risky and well planned.” He met with security experts at a hotel, traveled by train for two hours and visited another hotel before leaving the country by a leased private jet, possibly hidden in a large box. He changed planes in Turkey before arriving in Lebanon. Reports suggest that differences over voting rights and board influence emerged between the two companies. Each owns shares in the other, and the French side wanted the alliance to be “irreversible.” Ghosn was planning a single holding company including Italian-American Fiat Chrysler. Ghosn maintains that, with the arrest, Japan hoped to block the larger alliance. The case highlights the long detentions, pressure to confess and years of waiting for trials in Japan, all of which contribute a conviction rate exceeding 90 percent. A former Japanese prosecutor expresses regret that Ghosn’s escape overshadows global scrutiny of Japan's legal system. Meanwhile France allows its citizens to be tried for crimes committed abroad. Kelly remains in Japan. – YaleGlobal

The Fall of the God of Cars: BBC

Complex, multicultural corporate cultures can clash with national laws; Carlos Ghosn's arrest highlights differences between French and Japanese legal systems
Theo Leggett and Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Read the article from BBC News about the arrest of Carlos Ghosn.

stock price change rate since Oct 2018 and stock prices for Jan 15 2020 for Nissan, Renault and Fiat Chrysler

Downward trend: Changes in a CEO’s status carries risk, especially when the transition is unplanned or involves alleged crimes (Source: TipRanks and Investopedia)

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