
The Takedown That Put Carlos Ghosn in Jail - n_t
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-01-31/inside-the-takedown-of-renault-nissan-chairman-carlos-ghosn
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markbnj
Interesting read. I'm not a lawyer so I don't know anything about the charges,
but just on the face of it they have the feel of criminalizing something that
used to be winked at due to the person involved no longer enjoying the support
of those required to do the winking. I have a really hard time believing
Saikawa didn't know what Nada and his crew were up to. The whole thing very
much feels like a palace coup, and a somewhat remote and entitled European
perhaps not understanding his Japanese colleagues as well as he thought he
did. The pivotal moment might very well have been the dressing down he gave
Saikawa over his criticism of the proposed new alliance structure, and in
front of at least one other person. That's a grave thing in Japanese culture.

Anyway, I'm willing to bet in the end some deal is struck whereby both the
accused leave Japan. I doubt they actually want them sitting in a Japanese
cell for ten years.

~~~
agumonkey
Some theories floating the idea that it was Japan being annoyed at not having
enough control so they ~arranged their way to the head by dirty (slightly)
tricks.

I'd do believe it's probably true.

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a-wu
> Suspects can be held without charge for as long as 23 days, and they have no
> right to a lawyer during questioning. Prosecutors also have the power to
> forbid family visits. When the 23-day period expires, a suspect can be
> rearrested for another offense, resetting the clock to zero. And once
> someone has been indicted, the outcome is all but predetermined, leaving
> defense attorneys to focus on coaching their clients to confess in the least
> damaging way.

The U.S. criminal justice system receives a lot of (arguably well-deserved)
flak, but this seems almost borderline inhumane. Is "innocent until proven
guilty" not important in Japan like it is in the U.S.?

~~~
endorphone
Given that the conviction rate exceeds 99% it all seems like splitting hairs
-- when you've been charged, you will be sentenced. It seems unlikely that
they're just that good at deciding who to charge.

~~~
Aeolun
It’s based on extracting confessions. If you’ve confessed, naturally you are
guilty.

They just don’t actually charge anyone until they’ve already confessed.

The only problem is that insane structure where they basically lock you up
until you are so tired of it you confess to basically whatever they want out
of desperation.

I’m fairly sure that if he just waits it out he’ll go perfectly free, and I
suspect he knows the same.

~~~
lotsofpulp
If you’re locked up no matter what, what’s the difference in being found
guilty of not?

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laurieg
Contrast this with billions of dollars of fraud that happened in Olympus in
2011 where the guilty parties did not go to prison and only received suspended
sentences.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal)

~~~
lovemenot
I feel that in the eyes of most Japanese, these two cases are differentiated
by the maxim cui bono?

Olympus executives broke the law in an attempt to benefit their company. Ghosn
allegedly did so for his own personal benefit.

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zzleeper
I read the lengthy article expecting some strong accusations of fraud, but the
"deffered compensation" accusation is BS, and the other one (of using firm's
resources for personal gains) is what every CEO does when he takes the
corporate jet to play golf.

My guess is they just wanted to do a coup against him, and tgegis was the
easiest way in their eyes.

~~~
hodgesrm
As any good lawyer would ask of these charges, _cui bono_?

The charges seem very murky. The evidence that Nissan managers schemed to have
Ghosn removed seems quite clear on the other hand.

~~~
idoubtit
I don't like putting words into someone else' mouth. As I'm not a lawyer, my
guess is as good as yours, but I do _hope_ that any good lawyer would say: I
need more data to make up my mind.

There is no obvious answer to the accusation that Carlos Ghosn's fiscal
optimization was illegal. We know also that hundreds of millions were paid by
Nissan to Ghosn's relatives and friends, and to his personal projects, but who
can say if it was fraudulent or not? He may have provided false information to
justify these payments, with the complicity of other executives. It's easy to
imagine scenarios where his greediness made him cross the line. It's also easy
to make him the innocent victim of an internal coup. It could be any, or
partly both, but I don't event want to guess when I know so little.

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devereaux
> Japanese companies generally provide homes for their senior executives, and
> for Ghosn, Nissan provided five—in Paris, Tokyo, and Amsterdam, but also in
> Beirut and Rio de Janeiro, where he had negligible business ties but
> extensive personal ones.

…

> Ghosn didn’t have enough in his personal accounts, so he arranged for Nissan
> to take on the contracts temporarily. Later he took them back, secured by a
> letter of credit from Khaled Juffali, a Saudi businessman whose family firm
> later received $14.7 million in payments from Nissan’s CEO Reserve, a source
> of money the company says Ghosn controlled with little oversight … Ghosn’s
> representatives maintain that the transaction was properly approved and that
> Juffali, who owns a car dealership chain, was paid for helping with regional
> distribution, not for getting Ghosn out of a jam.

…

> Nissan covered the cost of his Rio yacht club membership, and his sister was
> on the company payroll for more than a decade, performing ill-defined
> consulting duties in Brazil.

Looks fishy to me.

~~~
prasadjoglekar
Might be fishy - but doesn't feel like any crime was committed

~~~
hodgesrm
And much of it seems to have been known to the Nissan board. It feels a bit
like Captain Renault being shocked about gambling at Rick's in Casablanca.

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unreal37
This article seems to underplay what a demi-God he was in the auto
manufacturing business.

Nissan was my client for many years. Carlos Ghosn was treated like a God, not
unlike Steve Jobs or Elon Musk in some circles.

Even if he gets released, it's a remarkable fall. His life of being worshiped
wherever he goes is over - in or out of jail.

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anonu
What happened to habeas corpus? Or a presumption of innocence? Clearly this is
not a concept in the Far East. Sure, the guy made millions and wanted more.
But he did well by his company and his employees. I feel like this case could
have serious repercussions for Japanese business. This is a big red flashing
warning sign to executives (locals and expats) there. You will get stabbed in
the back.

