Ex-Nissan chair Ghosn seeks permission to attend Tuesday card meeting: source
TOKYO (Reuters) – Ousted Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is seeking permission from Tokyo district court to attend the automaker's board meeting this week, a person directly acquainted with the case said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn sits in a car when he leaves his law office after being released on a citizen of Tokyo Detention House in Tokyo, Japan, March 6, 2019. REUTERS / Issei Kato / File Photo [19659003] His meeting on Tuesday will mark the first time Ghosn meets colleagues since he was arrested in November. He is facing charges of underreporting his salary by about $ 82 million over nearly a decade.
Ghosn, one of the world's most famous drivers, has called the "meritless" charges and said he is the target of a boardroom coup. He was released from prison last week on a $ 9 million bourgeoisie, having been held for over 100 days.
He seeks permission to attend Tuesday's board meeting, says the person, and refuses to be identified because the information has not yet been published.
Although Ghosn has been removed as head of Nissan Motor Co, as well as alliance partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp, he remains on the board of all three, as a shareholder vote is needed to remove a board member.
The court is expected to decide on permission as early as Monday, the newspaper Yomiuri said.
Ghosn's lawyer and representatives of Nissan could not be reached for comment. Ghosn has agreed on a strict bail-out that includes a resident of Tokyo and does not travel abroad.
Separately, Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi are planning to set up a joint board structure where Renault's new leader, Jean-Dominique Senard, is likely to take the chair, people with a direct knowledge of the case told Reuters.
The new setup replaces two separate Dutch companies – one for Nissan and Renault, and the other for Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, the people said.
TV Tokyo reported Sunday that the meeting structure was aimed at discussing issues related to their alliance in a step towards integrating operations.
Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Tim Kelly; Further reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Writing by Takashi Umekawa and David Dolan; Editing by Sam Holmes and Christopher Cushing