Carlos Ghosn rejected claims he failed to disclose income from Nissan Motor and passed on trading losses to the car maker, in his first public comments since his shock arrest almost two months ago.
“I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “I have acted honorably, legally and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives inside the company – with the sole purpose of strengthening Nissan.”
The former Nissan chairman, once feted as the automaker’s saviour, appeared in a navy blue suit and white shirt and seemed to have lost weight, according to local broadcasters.
Tuesday’s hearing at a Tokyo district court was the first chance for Mr Ghosn to give his side of the story. He told the court that contrary to the accusations made by prosecutors, he got no compensation from Nissan that wasn’t disclosed.
Draft proposals for post-retirement compensation were reviewed by internal and external lawyers, showing he had no intent to break the law, according to the statement.
He asked Nissan to take on collateral linked to foreign-exchange forward contracts “as it came to no cost to the company” and the contracts were then transferred back to him without the car maker incurring any loss. The contracts were entered into because the company paid him in yen while he preferred dollar income.
He said he has always acted with integrity and has never been accused of any wrongdoing in his professional career.
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Read more:
Carlos Ghosn's jail detention extended again by Tokyo court
Former Nissan executive Kelly leaves jail on bail after a month of detention
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After weeks in jail, the executive’s public defense – in his own words – was highly anticipated. A whopping 1,122 tickets were handed out on Tuesday in a lottery to attend Mr Ghosn’s hearing – about 80 times oversubscribed – for the 14 public seats available in the courtroom gallery.
The high-profile executive was the architect of the alliance between Nissan, France’s Renault and Mitsubishi Motors. While he was dismissed as Nissan chairman shortly after his arrest, Renault has kept him on as chairman and chief executive officer because it needs evidence of wrongdoing.
And his appearance lends a new dimension to a legal battle that has been largely one-sided. Accusations against him have layered up and his confinement has repeatedly been extended. He was re-arrested on fresh charges on December 21, just when it looked like he may be able to apply for bail.
“I look forward to beginning the process of defending myself against the accusations that have been made against me,” he said in the statement.
Mr Ghosn sought to highlight his loyalty to Nissan and he spoke of “a genuine love and appreciation” for the company. He said four major companies tried to recruit him while he was Nissan CEO. He even named some of the people who reached out to him – Bill Ford at Ford Motor, and Steve Rattner, the Obama administration’s car czar at the time, who tapped Mr Ghosn for a position at General Motors.
Mr Ghosn turned them down. "Even though their proposals were very attractive, I could not in good conscience abandon Nissan while we were in the midst of our turnaround," he said.
Meanwhile, a Saudi partner of Nissan came to the defense of Mr Ghosn after a $14.7 million payment to the Middle Eastern company came under the scrutiny of prosecutors in the probe. The transaction over four years was for legitimate business purposes, the firm said.
Tuesday’s sessions followed a request by Mr Ghosn’s legal team for the court to explain why he still remains in detention.
If proven, each of Mr Ghosn’s alleged offenses may carry a sentence of as much as 10 years, prosecutors have said. Nissan has also accused Mr Ghosn of misusing company funds, including over homes from Brazil to Lebanon and hiring his sister on an advisory contract.
Company%20profile
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company%20profile
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
