France’s Deputy Finance Minister says the government is not able to make any decision surrounding Carlos Ghosn as he is currently being detained by Japanese authorities.
The Renault chief was today sacked by Alliance partner, Nissan as its chairman, but the French automaker has proceeded far more cautiously retaining Ghosn who it describes as “temporarily incapacitated.”
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“[There is a] Presumption of innocence,” said Deputy Finance Minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher on French broadcaster, Sud Radio. “Today, Carlos Ghosn is not able to manage the Group given the fact he is being detained.
“On the other hand it is obvious we can not make a decision if we don’t have the facts which allow us to know what are the serious accusations which have been made against him.
“If these accusations are confirmed we will draw the consequences – if these accusations are invalidated we will equally draw the consequences.”
Nissan’s dismissal of Carlos Ghosn as chairman as well as representative director, Greg Kelly follows its investigation into what it says is “misconduct.”
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By GlobalData“I met Monsieur Seko [Japanese Finance Minister] who asked me to confirm to the French government they were very keen to maintain the Alliance and the stability of the Alliance,” added Panier-Runacher. “This is an industrial story above all and the French government does not have a particular vision to [any] move towards a merger.
“What we want is the Renault Group continues its ascent path. I [also] underline Mitsubishi equally has a position which is around the same as Renault. I don’t have the elements concerning Carlos Ghosn – I see there is an operational difficulty and I reaffirm my attachment to the Alliance.”
Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on Monday (19 November) and although he has made no comment on the situation, Nissan has moved rapidly to depose him, unlike Alliance partner, Renault which is retaining the Brazilian-born Frenchman as CEO.
The Nissan board met today at its headquarters in Yokahama and despite the dramatic developments was keen to insist its agreement with Renault would remain unchanged.
“The board acknowledged the significance of the matter and confirmed the long-standing Alliance partnership with Renault remains unchanged and the mission is to minimise the potential impact and confusion on the day-to-day cooperation among the Alliance partners,” said a Nissan statement.
