BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fugitive former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said that he was brought down by a plot cooked up at the company, some of whose executives he named at a news conference in Beirut on Wednesday.
Ghosn fled to Beirut last month from Tokyo, where he had been awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct.
Following are some of his comments:
RENAULT-NISSAN INTEGRATION
I was ready to retire before June 2018... I unfortunately accepted this offer to continue to integrate the two companies (Renault and Nissan).
Some of my Japanese friends thought that the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan, was to get rid of me.
‘A HANDFUL OF VINDICTIVE INDIVIDUALS’
My unimaginable ordeal is the result of a handful of unscrupulous, vindictive individuals.
BASELESS CHARGES
The charges against me are baseless.
Why have they extended the investigation timeline, why have they rearrested me? Why were they so intent on preventing me from talking and setting out my facts?
Why have they spent 14 months trying to break my spirit, barring any contact with my wife?
(One reason) was that Nissan performance unfortunately started to decline at the beginning of 2017...in October 2016 I decided to remove myself from Nissan...because I signed a deal with Mitsubishi. I moved to Mitsubishi as chairman of the board.
‘UNMISSABLE’ CHANCE TO ALLY WITH FIAT CHRYSLER
Who is the winner of all this?
In 2017, the alliance was the number one automotive group. Three companies growing, profitable. We were preparing to add Fiat Chrysler to the group because I
