Ex - Nissan Vp: Needed To Contact Prosecutors
A former Nissan Motor executive says he consulted prosecutors about allegations against former chairman Carlos Ghosn as raising accusations from within the firm was difficult with power concentrated around Ghosn.
Former Nissan Executive Vice President Kawaguchi Hitoshi spoke at a Tokyo court on Thursday as a witness in the trial of Greg Kelly, another former executive involved in the allegations.
Kawaguchi said he joined an in-house probe on allegations against Ghosn around March 2018. He said he had thought the way Ghosn mixed business and personal interests was a risk.
Kawaguchi said an outside lawyer told him he should talk with prosecutors as the internal investigation could be risky due to Ghosn's high international profile.
Kawaguchi said the lawyer provided information to Tokyo district prosecutors in July 2018, four months before Ghosn was arrested.
A lawyer for Kelly asked Kawaguchi whether he rushed to share information with prosecutors to prevent a possible merger with French automaker Renault.
Kawaguchi said it was true that Ghosn was seen as a negative presence for Nissan owing to his perceived inclination toward the merger. But he added he is confident that allegations against Ghosn were not fabricated to block the merger.