Japanese car giant Nissan indicted alongside Carlos Ghosn

Detained millionaire Carlos Ghosn and car maker Nissan were formally indicted by prosecutors in Japan on Monday for under-reporting pay in a major escalation of the ongoing corporate scandal.

Ghosn, who was detained without charge on November 19, has been indicted for under-reporting his income between 2010 and 2015 by $43 million alongside high-ranking executive Greg Kelly.

Ghosn was also re-arrested for the allegations of committing the same offence between 2015 and 2018, meaning he can be kept inside for another three weeks.

Nissan has also been indicted for submitting false financial statements to the stock market, implicating the firm formally in the scandal for the first time.

Ghosn and Kelly have not commented officially but reports suggest they deny the allegations.

Nissan said it took the allegations “extremely seriously” and would maintain efforts to strengthen corporate governance.

“Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan’s public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret,” it said.

Nissan could be hit with a fine of more than $6 million if found guilty.

The scandal led to Ghosn, who was chairman of Nissan and also head of Nissan’s majority shareholder Renault, losing his role as chairman after the board voted to sack him.

Japanese prosecutors today said they had not heard of any health problems with Ghosn and Kelly while they have been detained, according to reports.

Though fraught, the future of the tie-up between Nissan and Renault has also got the backing of major politicians in France and Japan. Today Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was “important” for the alliance to remain to help Franco-Japanese company relations.