Ghosn gone: Nissan drives out chairman after arrest
Tokyo, Nov 22: Nissan board members voted unanimously to sack Carlos Ghosn as chairman on Thursday, a spectacular fall from grace for the once-revered boss whose arrest for financial misconduct stunned the car industry and the business world.
Ghosn stands accused of under-reporting his income by millions of dollars and a host of other financial irregularities, alleged after a months-long internal Nissan probe following a whistleblower report.
His ouster as chairman represents an astonishing turnaround for the titan of the auto sector who revived the Japanese brand and forged an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, which sold a combined 10.6 million cars last year more than any other firm.
It also throws the future of the alliance into doubt, as Ghosn was the architect of the fractious tie-up -- which employs 450,000 people globally -- and the glue holding it together.
"After reviewing a detailed report of the internal investigation, the board voted unanimously ... to discharge Carlos Ghosn as Chairman of the Board," the statement said.
Nissan also stressed its "long-standing... partnership with Renault remains unchanged" and that "the mission is to minimise the potential impact and confusion on the day-to-day cooperation" between the firms.
Prosecutors intercepted the Brazil-born tycoon Monday as he landed in Tokyo on a private jet, accusing him and another executive Greg Kelly of understating the chairman's income by around 44 million between June 2011 and June 2015.
His fate as Nissan chairman appeared sealed just hours later as his hand-picked successor as CEO, Hiroto Saikawa launched an impassioned broadside at his former mentor, muttering about a "dark side" to the Ghosn era and urging his sacking.
Even after being jettisoned as chairman, Ghosn remains technically a member of the board as a full shareholders' meeting is required to remove him.
Nissan said it would study the creation of a "special committee" to take advice from a third party on improving its internal governance and executive pay.
Ghosn is being held custody in a Tokyo detention centre and has not been seen in public nor made any comments since his arrest.
He received a visit from Brazilian consul Joao de Mendonca on Thursday who told AFP that Ghosn "sounded very well, in good health".
However, his conditions are likely to be a far cry from what the millionaire businessman is used to. Inmates at the centre are typically allowed 30 minutes exercise per day and only two baths a week.
Ties and strings are removed to prevent suicide attempts and former guards and lawyers said Ghosn was almost certain to be held in a cramped cell on his own.
On Wednesday, prosecutors successfully applied to extend his custody for an additional 10 days as they step up their questioning.
Deputy chief prosecutor Shin Kukimoto said that the type of crime Ghosn is accused of is "one of the most serious types of crime" under Japan's Financial Instruments Act and Ghosn could face a 10-million-yen fine and/or a 10-year prison sentence.
Under the law, companies themselves can also be held accountable for the falsified documents, Kukimoto said, following reports that prosecutors believe Nissan also has a case to answer.
Public broadcaster NHK said Nissan had paid "huge sums" to provide Ghosn with luxury homes in Rio de Janeiro, Beirute, Paris and Amsterdam "without any legitimate business reason".
Ghosn had a reputation as a hard-nosed workaholic with no qualms about closing factories and slashing jobs -- earning the nickname "Le Cost Killer" in France, where 47,000 employees work for Renault.
But his exorbitant salary and flashy lifestyle at odds with Japanese corporate culture drew fire.
According to the Financial Times, Ghosn's fall from grace came as he was working on a full-blown merger of Nissan and Renault.
This was opposed by executives in the Japanese firm that has ended up being the most profitable player in the partnership and the FT said Ghosn's departure could be used as a pretext to rebalance the alliance in Nissan's favour.
Renault has held off jettisoning Ghosn, pointedly saying Nissan had failed to share the evidence it had gathered with its sister company.
Governments in Paris and Tokyo have been scrambling to contain the fallout from the arrest, with President Emmanuel Macron saying France would be "extremely vigilant" about the stability of Renault and the alliance.
Analysts said that despite clear tensions between the two firms headquartered 10,000 kilometres apart, neither company has the financial might alone to make the heavy investments in electric vehicles considered to be the industry's future.
"It would be like a couple divorcing after 20 years it would be complicated, very expensive and not easy to do," said Gaetan Toulemonde, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
"Honestly, I don't know if it's even possible."
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Rupee surges 50 paise to 92.56 against USD in early trade after US, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 50 paise to 92.56 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced suspension of military strikes against Iran for two weeks.
Forex traders said the two-week ceasefire announcement triggered a wave of outsized bargain buying amongst the risk assets as Asian Stocks, Dow futures, Gold and Silver all rallied while Brent Oil fell below USD 100 to USD 96 per barrel.
The rupee in accordance surged to 92.56 levels, with the RBI deadline still in place till the 10th of April (regarding squaring of positions taken overnight up to USD 100 million) while the RBI announces its monetary policy today at 10 am.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.92 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.56 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 50 paise over its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 93.06 against the American currency.
Attention now shifts to the RBI’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of FY 2026–27. The key focus areas will be: RBI's outlook on inflation and growth, its assessment of global uncertainties and any indication of focus on currency stability.
"The tone of the policy will be closely tracked, especially given the rapidly changing global environment," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
The decision of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra, will be announced at 10 am.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.90 per cent at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 12.68 per cent at USD 95.42 per barrel in futures trade, after the announcement of the ceasefire.
President Trump announced a two-week suspension of military strikes against Iran just hours before his 8 pm ET deadline.
Iran agreed to allow safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire, triggering sweeping market moves across oil, equities and currencies.
The rupee is likely to remain range-bound with a bit of volatile moves between 92.50 to 93.50 as the markets await the RBI's monetary policy.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 2527.47 points or 3.39 per cent higher at 77,144.05, while the Nifty jumped 767.25 points or 3.32 per cent to 23,890.90 in initial trade.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 8,692.11 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
