Ghosn accuses Nissan executives of 'backstabbing' plot

Tokyo

CARLOS Ghosn has accused "backstabbing" Nissan executives of a "conspiracy" that led to his arrest, in a video revealed on Tuesday by his representatives.

The video was recorded shortly before Ghosn was rearrested last week by prosecutors in Tokyo on new allegations. He had been out on bail while facing three charges of financial misconduct.

In the brief video, played by his lawyers at a press conference, Ghosn repeated that he was "innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me".

He denounced a "conspiracy" against him and said events had been "twisted in a way to paint a personage of greed, a personage of dictatorship."

"This is about a plot, this is about conspiracy, this is about backstabbing," he said in the video.

Ghosn did not, however, name specific individuals at Nissan, with his lawyer saying that the defence team had opted to cut parts of the recording that pointed the finger at particular figures.

Ghosn was rearrested by prosecutors last week while out on bail in Tokyo after they announced they were investigating new allegations against him.

A court has extended his detention until April 14, when prosecutors can apply to hold him for an additional 10 days before they must release him unless they bring charges or file new allegations.

Prosecutors said Ghosn had been detained over transfers of Nissan funds totalling US$15 million between late 2015 and the middle of 2018 to a dealership in Oman.

They suspect that around US$5 million of these funds were siphoned off for Ghosn's use, including for the purchase of a luxury yacht and financing personal investments. AFP