Ex-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn Denies Any Financial Wrongdoing

There are no financial misconducts happening–this was according to Nissan Motor’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn during an interview with the Japanese media last Sunday.

Greg Kelly, a former Representative Director and the alleged “go-to” person doing the dirty work of buying international real estate deals for Ghosn, also denies any wrongdoings.  He claims to have consulted with law offices, the company, and even the Financial Services Agency when he was doing his purchases.

Prosecutors accuse Kelly of failing to report the ex-chairman’s income by around USD44 billion that spanned five years. Sources, however, believe that Ghosn has more unaudited finances hidden somewhere.

Both Kelly and Ghosn were fired three days prior to their arrest.

“I did nothing wrong”

According to Manila Bulletin, Ghosn has no intention of understating his income on financial reports. Moreover, an aide, together with the Brazil-born Chairman, told Nikkei Asia Review that “he acted appropriately and checked with relevant parties” regarding his income.

However, Nikkei Asian Review revealed that the former Nissan chairman is personally involved with some of the purchases. Sources say that he was involved in choosing and negotiating the prices of two luxury homes in the British Virgin Islands. Once he makes a decision on a property, he asks Greg Kelly plus two associates, a non-Japanese senior vice president and a senior Japanese official to handle the paperwork.

Ghosn’s purchases are said to be made via Zi-A Capital BV in Netherlands, which was established around 2010. This Dutch subsidiary of Nissan was reportedly created to finance technology startups. According to Morningstar.com, Kelly is Zi-A Capital’s lead director.