Nissan and ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn pay US$16 million to settle US fraud claims
- US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that company hid more than US$140 million of former chief executive officer’s compensation from investors
- Ghosn, who is awaiting trial in Tokyo on financial misconduct charges, given 10-year ban from serving as officer or director of a publicly traded US company
Nissan and its former chief executive Carlos Ghosn have agreed to settle claims from the US Securities and Exchange Commission over false financial disclosures related to Ghosn’s compensation, an SEC statement said on Monday.
Nissan will pay US$15 million, while Ghosn agreed to a US$1 million civil penalty and a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded US company, the SEC statement said.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan and fired by Nissan last year. He is awaiting trial in Tokyo on financial misconduct charges that he denies.
Ghosn’s legal team said in a statement they were “pleased to have resolved this matter in the US with no findings or admission of wrongdoing … The SEC settlement expressly permits Mr Ghosn to continue to contest and deny the factual and legal allegations against him in the criminal proceedings in Japan, and Mr Ghosn fully intends to do so.”
Investors are entitled to know how, and how much, a company compensates its top executives. Ghosn and Kelly went to great lengths to conceal this information from investors and the market
The team added “that, if given a fair trial, he will be acquitted of all charges and fully vindicated”.
Former Nissan human resources official Gregory Kelly agreed to a US$100,000 penalty and a five-year officer and director ban. Nissan, Ghosn and Kelly settled without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations and findings.
