Ghosn's Detention Extended; Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Say They're in This Thing Together

Fallen auto industry magnate Carlos Ghosn can stay in a Tokyo detention center for another 10 days, following an extension approved Friday by Japanese authorities. Arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of underreported income and other potential financial crimes, Ghosn will be released on December 10th if authorities fail to lay charges — though no one expects that to happen.

Despite their disagreement on how the Ghosn affair should be handled, the three automakers Ghosn once reigned over have put forward a unified front. We’re all good, the chummy Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance claims.

“Over the past few days, the Board of Directors of Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have all – individually and collectively – emphatically reiterated their strong commitment to the Alliance,” the automakers stated in a joint release.

“The Alliance has achieved unparalleled success in the past two decades. We remain fully committed to the Alliance.”

Nissan’s board moved quickly to remove Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest, with Mitsubishi following suit shortly after. Renault, on the other hand, hasn’t made a decision to remove Ghosn as the company’s CEO. The joint statement is meant to allay fears that the strategic alliance Ghosn built — the technology and platform sharing at its core, plus the members’ intertwined investments — is on the verge of falling apart.

Reuters, citing a Japanese newspaper, claims French President Emmanuel Macros wants to set up a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss Ghosn’s arrest. Ghosn is a French-Brazilian national, and 15 percent of Renault’s shares reside in the French government’s hands. Macron’s beef concerns the opaqueness of the investigation.

Ghosn, who reportedly requested the delivery of a turtleneck sweater to his sparse jail cell, is suspected of underreporting his compensation, with the help of Nissan board member Greg Kelly, to the tune of $44 million. The executive’s purchase of stately homes across the globe and use of company assets also raised eyebrows… and suspicions. According to Reuters, citing a report in the Wall Street Journal, Ghosn’s deferred income is another focus of the investigation.

Ghosn reportedly told colleagues he was in the right to not report income deferred until retirement in Japanese regulatory filings.

[Image: Nissan]