Renault and France Stand Behind Ghosn

The situation with Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and chairman of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, has become even more interesting. If you don’t know, he was arrested recently in Japan for under-reporting income, which you can read more about here. It looked like the French government was taking a step away from Ghosn and perhaps was ready to throw him to the sharks, but that changed literally overnight.

Late on Nov. 20, the Renault board voted to retain Carlos Ghosn as chairman and CEO, despite his arrest in Japan. A deputy chief executive was appointed as a temporary measure while Ghosn is incarcerated abroad.

This move directly contradicts the actions of both Nissan and Mitsubishi, which both have stated they will remove Ghosn from their boards. So far, this tension doesn’t seem to be carrying over between the French and Japanese governments.

Meanwhile, Ghosn isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. As The Wall Street Journal explains, Japanese law allows the police to interrogate a suspect for two or three days. Then, with court approval, the police can retain the suspect for an additional 10 days. That extension was granted by a Japanese court. The police can ask for another 10-day extension, so Ghosn might be subjected to grueling interrogations, which reportedly can last most of the day, for a potential 23 days.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian