Nissan to boot chairman over 'significant acts of misconduct'

Nissan is preparing to oust its chairman Carlos Ghosn after it was revealed he and another top executive, Greg Kelly, had been involved in "significant acts of misconduct" over a long period of time.

"Nissan has been providing information to the Japanese Public Prosecutors Office and has been fully cooperating with their investigation," the Japanese carmaker said in a statement. "We will continue to do so."

Nissan said both members of the company had been under-reporting Ghosn's compensation: "Numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets.”

As a result, CEO Hiroto Saikawa will propose to the board of directors that it "promptly remove Ghosn from his positions as chairman and representative director.”

"Saikawa will also propose the removal of Greg Kelly from his position as representative director,” the company said in a statement.

"Nissan deeply apologises for causing great concern to our shareholders and stakeholders. We will continue our work to identify our governance and compliance issues, and to take appropriate measures."

As part of the alliance between Nissan and Renault, Ghosn is the chairman of the former but the chief executive officer of the latter. In turn, Nissan holds a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors which it acquired in 2016.

On the back of the news swirling around Ghosn, shares of Nissan dipped by 0.45% to 1,005.50 yen in Tokyo trade, but those of Renault were trading 10% lower in Paris on Monday moirning.