Ghosn used joint venture between Nissan, Mitsubishi to inflate pay: Lawyers

Ghosn, the former chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in 2018 on financial misconduct charges but fled to Lebanon last December.

Company News : Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former auto executive, used a joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi to inflate his pay, effectively clawing back a cut to his declared wages, and to cover a personal tax debt, lawyers for the companies said on Monday.

Ghosn, the former chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in 2018 on financial misconduct charges but fled to Lebanon last December.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including concerning the way he was compensated.

Nissan and Mitsubishi have been pouring over payments made to Carlos Ghosn from their Dutch-based joint venture, and had already challenged a salary and bonus worth 7.3 million euros which they claim he granted himself without the knowledge of their respective boards.

In new arguments submitted to a Dutch court on Monday, lawyers for the firms alleged Ghosn awarded himself that compensation to offset a cut in his declared earnings at Nissan.

Ghosn - who was under public scrutiny in Japan and France over his wages during his tenure, though he has argued since that other auto industry bosses were paid far more - had agreed to cut his pay when stepping down as Nissan CEO in April 2017.

He stayed on as chairman, and also had the top job at Renault.

Representatives of Ghosn's legal team said the allegations of unknown or unjust payments were unfounded.

"We don't dispute that Mr Ghosn received a good salary", attorney Roeland de Mol said. "But he had the heavy task of getting French and Japanese companies to cooperate. He didn't retire to go play golf after he stepped down as Nissan CEO."

This 88-seater plane from Japan's Mitsubishi is taking on Boeing and Airbus

With few seats and smaller fuselages, regional jets are a different class of aircraft from larger narrow-body planes such as Boeing's 737 or Airbus's A320.

Business Standard : A new, long-delayed 88-passenger jet from Japan may finally be the right plane at the right time.

More cities in Asia and Europe are seeking to link up with each other and the global air travel network. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, the first airliner built in Japan since the 1960s, began certification flights last month in Moses Lake, Washington, to satisfy that demand.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s new airliner is testing the skies just as rivals are moving to sell off their manufacturing operations for jets with up to 160 seats. Boeing Co. is set to buy 80 percent of the Embraer SA’s commercial operations in a joint venture, while Bombardier Inc. last year sold control of its C Series airliner project to Airbus SE and is exploring “strategic options” for its regional-jet operations. At stake, particularly in the market for jets with fewer seats, is $135 billion in sales in the two decades through 2037, according to industry group Japan Aircraft Development Corp.

“Bombardier’s moves do indeed create opportunities for the MRJ,’’ said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst at Teal Group. “It’s the biggest single factor in the MRJ’s favor.’’

With few seats and smaller fuselages, regional jets are a different class of aircraft from larger narrow-body planes such as Boeing’s 737 or Airbus’s A320. The MRJ has a range of about 2,000 miles, while a smaller variant can haul up to 76 people for about the same distance.

A longtime supplier of aircraft components to Boeing, Mitsubishi Heavy is developing the MRJ to emerge from its customer’s shadow. After spending at least $2 billion over more than a decade, the manufacturer is looking to get its jet certified and start deliveries to launch partner ANA Holdings Inc.

Mitsubishi initially planned test flights in 2012 but blew past that deadline because of production difficulties. Now the company, which makes ships, nuclear power plants and aerospace components, expects to have the plane ready for customers next year, a timetable that will test the company, said Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. President Hisakazu Mizutani.

“This coming year is extremely important for us,” Mizutani said at a media event on April 16 in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.

A lot now hinges on Mitsubishi’s ability to get the jets ready on schedule, said Sho Fukuhara, an analyst at Jefferies Japan Ltd. who said the company’s current 407 MRJ orders aren’t enough to make the program profitable.