Ousted Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn was planning to propose replacing CEO Hiroto Saikawa at a company board meeting scheduled for late November before he was arrested by Tokyo prosecutors on 19 November for alleged financial misconduct, according to reports in Japan.
It had been suggested Ghosn was unhappy with Nissan's performance in the US as well as with quality and final inspection issues that emerged in Japan in October last year.
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Ghosn had discussed plans to reform Nissan management with some company executives in Japan earlier in the year, including the possibility of replacing Saikawa, but these plans were derailed by his arrest, according to reports citing people close to the events.
Saikawa stated Nissan conducted an internal probe on Ghosn's alleged financial misconduct over several months and provided the information to Tokyo prosecutors before his arrest.
Ghosn was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by understating by JPY5bn (US$44m) his JPY10bn compensation in the five-year period to March 2015 in Nissan's securities reports.
It had not been confirmed whether Saikawa was aware of Ghosn's plan to oust him before the information was reported to the Tokyo prosecutors.
Ghosn and Nissan both charged officially in Japan
