TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese prosecutors arrested ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn for a fourth time on Thursday on charges of trying to enrich himself to the tune of $5 million at the automaker’s expense, in what media reports linked to payments to an Omani dealer.
The latest arrest, which national broadcaster NHK described as a highly unusual move for someone who has already been released on bail, marks the latest dramatic twist in the once-feted executive’s fall from grace.
Tokyo prosecutors said Ghosn had caused Nissan Motor Co Ltd $5 million in losses over a 2-1/2-year period to July 2018, in breach of his legal duties to Nissan and with the goal of enriching himself.
The Kyodo news agency reported that the losses involved the shifting of funds through a dealer in Oman to the account of a company Ghosn effectively owned. The agency did not cite any sources.”My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary,” Ghosn said in a statement emailed by a U.S.-based spokesman.
“It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken. I am innocent of the groundless charges and accusations against me.”
More than a dozen officials from the Tokyo prosecutor’s office visited his residence early on Thursday and asked him to submit to questioning, NHK said. A silver van believed to be carrying Ghosn later left the residence, it said.
Footage of the vehicle leaving the residence showed its windows
