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Lawyer for Ghosn slams bail condition as human rights violation

TOKYO (AP) — The lawyer for Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Saturday criticized a bail condition that prevents his client from seeing his wife, as Ghosn awaits trial on financial misconduct charges. A judge has forbidden Ghosn from seeing his wife, Carole, including in the presence of lawyers, or talking to her on the phone. Prosecutors say the restriction is needed to prevent evidence tampering. "This is unfair," Takashi Takano, the lawyer, said in a phone interview, calling it a human rights violation. "It's cruel and unusual." His earlier appeal of the ban, rejected by district and appeals courts, went to the Supreme Court, which turned it down last month. The Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed, but Takano vowed to keep filing new petitions, stressing that the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality or the human rights aspects. The next one will be filed within two or three weeks, he said. Ghosn's lawyers recently filed a second petition with the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, arguing that the restrictions on seeing his wife amount to a deprivation of fundamental human rights. Takano acknowledged that the situation looks dismal, as Japan's Supreme Court is not easily influenced by other governments' views or by public opinion. "Even the strongest man in the world can be stressed, psychologically damaged. That's very natural as a human being," said Takano, noting that Ghosn was holding up well compared to other clients he has had. Ghosn has been aggressively taking part in meetings with his defense team, according to Takano. The case has entered the stage known as "pre-trial sessions," during which both sides hand in evidence. A trial date has not been set. In Japan, preparations for trials routinely take months. Ghosn, who led Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. for two decades, was arrested in November and charged with falsifying financial documents in reporting retirement compensation, and with breach of trust in diverting Nissan money toward personal investment losses and a company effectively run by him. Ghosn, 65, a Brazilian-born Frenchman of Lebanese ancestry, has repeatedly said he is innocent, accusing some at Nissan of plotting against him and opposing a plan to merge Nissan with French alliance partner Renault. Renault is set to vote Tuesday on a possible merger with Fiat Chrysler.

Auditor had questioned Nissan on payments in Ghosn scandal, source says

TOKYO — Nissan's auditor had repeatedly questioned transactions at the heart of allegations of financial misconduct by former chief Carlos Ghosn, but Nissan said they were proper, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC questioned Nissan's management several times, chiefly around 2013, about purchases of overseas luxury homes for Ghosn's personal use and of stock-appreciation rights that were conferred on him. But the Japanese automaker said the transactions and financial reporting were appropriate, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The revelation shows Nissan and its auditor were discussing the transactions, in apparent contrast with Nissan's contention that the alleged misreporting of benefits for Ghosn was masterminded by Ghosn and a key lieutenant. A spokesman for EY ShinNihon, the Japanese affiliate of global accounting firm Ernst & Young, said he could not comment on specific cases. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. Ghosn was arrested on Nov. 19 as he arrived in Japan. Prosecutors accuse him of falsifying Nissan's annual reports to understate by about half his total compensation of some 10 billion yen ($90 million) over several years. The high-profile former executive has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media. Ghosn remains in custody and is unable to speak publicly. He is represented by former prosecutor Motonari Otsuru, according to Japanese media. Otsuru's law firm declined to comment on Wednesday, and Otsuru has not responded to requests for comment. Nissan has largely pinned the blame on Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former representative director who was arrested along with Ghosn on the same allegations. "As a result of the investigation, we are certain these two are the masterminds," CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a news conference on Nov. 19, referring to Ghosn and Kelly. He declined to say whether others at Nissan were involved in the alleged wrongdoing. An internal investigation is ongoing, and Nissan says it is cooperating with prosecutors. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have removed Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest. The French member of the three-firm alliance, Renault, retains him as chairman and CEO.

Nissan recovery to focus on U.S., Japan, China markets

Nissan will pull back from Europe and elsewhere to focus on the United States, China and Japan under a plan that represents a new strategic direction for the embattled carmaker, people with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters. The "operational performance plan" is due to be announced on May 28 and goes beyond fixing problems from ousted leader Carlos Ghosn's aggressive expansion drive, the people said. The company's struggles predate the current global economic shutdown. Nissan's 2019 sales slumped severely.  Nissan was already planning to implement what was described as a "do or die" plan in January, before the global coronavirus pandemic froze automotive production and sales worldwide.  Pursuit of market share, particularly in the United States, led to steep discounting and a cheapened brand. Under the new, three-year plan — reported here for the first time — Nissan aims to restore dealer ties and refresh lineups to regain pricing power and profitability, the people told Reuters. "This is not just a cost-cutting plan. We're rationalizing operations, reprioritizing and refocusing our business to plant seeds for the future," one of the people said. The plan also aims to cut competition and expand cooperation with alliance partners, the people said. Nissan will follow Mitsubishi in plug-in electric hybrid vehicle technology, with the smaller peer taking the lead in Asian markets outside China and Japan. France's Renault will likely focus on electrical vehicle technologies and Europe. Nissan and Mitsubishi declined to comment. Renault did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plan, led mainly by Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta rather than Nissan's low-key chief executive, Makoto Uchida, is aimed at freeing resources to invest in products and technology for the United States, China and Japan, the people said. "The net effect is even though we reduce our R&D spend this year versus last year and make other savings, we pump those freed-up resources back into core markets and core products," said one of the people, who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak with media on the matter. The plan is likely to take up to two weeks to be finalized, with sales and earnings targets complicated by the anticipated long-term impact on auto sales of government measures worldwide taken to stop the coronavirus outbreak, the people said.