Sixteen million dollars. This is the price that have agreed to pay Nissan (up to 15 million) and its former CEO Carlos Ghosn (for 1 million) to extinguish the lawsuits launched against them by the US Stock Exchange’s gendarme, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At age 65, Carlos Ghosn is also banned from running a US-listed company or being a director for a period of 10 years. Greg Kelly, the ex-right arm of Carlos Ghosn will pay $ 100,000 for his side, and will suffer the same ban for 5 years.
Last January, the SEC launched an investigation into Carlos Ghosn’s compensation, following the lawsuit in Japan – the one that earned the French-Lebanese leader his first spectacular arrest on 19 November and his subsequent indictment. The leader is especially accused of not having declared to the stock market authorities a part of his remuneration , between 2010 and 2018. A violation of Japanese law that also falls under the US stock market law.
False statements
On Monday, the SEC announced that it has finally launched a lawsuit against the former executive, which she accuses “with the assistance of Greg Kelly and subordinates at Nissan” to have concealed more than 90 million remuneration to the stock market authorities. The executive also has, according to her, implemented measures to increase her retirement by $ 50 million.
In total, over $ 140 million in compensation and retirement benefits have been “fraudulently concealed” from the public and the markets, the SEC says in a harsh indictment. “To put it simply, Nissan’s statements on Ghosn’s pay were false,” said Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC.
Although Carlos Ghosn, Nissan and Greg Kelly have reached an amicable agreement with the SEC, they have not acknowledged the facts. “Such an agreement simply stops prosecutions in the United States,” said a spokesman for Carlos Ghosn. He will be able to focus on his defense in Japan. ” Nissan, for its part, said it was “firmly committed to continuing to cultivate robust corporate governance.”
Criminal procedure in Japan
“We are satisfied with the conclusion of this agreement in the United States which intervenes without there being any finding or recognition of wrongdoing and which thus ratifies the procedure without Carlos Ghosn having admitted or refuted the allegations. of the SEC, “said their lawyers. “This agreement with the SEC specifies that Mr. Ghosn can continue to challenge the legal actions and deny allegations against him in the criminal proceedings in Japan; what Mr. Ghosn is determined to pursue. “
Since his arrest, the former leader (who is also being sued in Japan for breach of trust) has always denied all the facts he is accused of.