Victim or villain: Carlos Ghosn re-arrested as Renault turns on former CEO
Issued on: Modified:
So why is Carlos Ghosn back in a Japanese jail? The once all-powerful boss of the Renault-Nissan alliance was planning his big counter-offensive with a press conference next week. We'll review the latest twist, its motives and timing which comes amid fresh scrutiny over the perks and payments afforded to the Franco-Brazilian-Lebanese corporate titan.
Renault are now the ones to flag alleged payments, this time to a subsidiary in Oman that's said to have funnelled funds to pay for everything from a British Virgin Islands-registered yacht to start-up money for Ghosn's son.
More broadly, we're still up against two competing narratives: the tale of a corporate hero nicknamed Le Cost Killer but who outlived his time and grew insufferable before an overdue comeuppance, or the story of a struggling Japanese automaker that reverts to government-backed economic nationalism now that it's back on firm footing. And when Renault tries to go for a full-blown merger, Nissan conveniently discovers its own creative bookkeeping.
Produced by Charles WENTE, Ingri BERGO and James VASINA.