Carlos Ghosn: Ex-Nissan chairman blames 'conspiracy' for removal and arrest

'This is about backstabbing. I’m talking here about a few executives who, obviously for their own interests and for their own selfish fears, are creating a lot of value destruction.'

In an eight-minute video message released on Tuesday, the former Nissan chairman said that executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by “selfish fears” (EPA)

Carlos Ghosn has lashed out at Nissan’s top executives for playing “a very dirty game” and orchestrating a “conspiracy” that led to his arrest and detention for more than 100 days.

In an eight-minute video released on Tuesday, the former Nissan chair said that executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by “selfish fears”, and had mistaken his leadership for greed and dictatorship.

“This is about backstabbing,” Mr Ghosn said in the video. “I’m talking here about a few executives who, obviously for their own interests and for their own selfish fears, are creating a lot of value destruction. Names? You know them.”

“We’re talking about people who really played a very dirty game into what’s happening,” Mr Ghosn said. “But hopefully the truth will happen, and the facts will happen.”

His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said the video was prepared in case Mr Ghosn was not able to speak at a press conference.

Mr Ghosn was arrested for a fourth time last week while on bail awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct and breach of trust.

Former Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn accompanied by his wife Carole (Reuters)

Hours earlier, Renault had accused him of “questionable and concealed practices” and accused him of “violations of the group’s ethical principles” – the first time Renault has publicly criticised its former executive.

The French car giant said it would stop Mr Ghosn’s pension, thought to be worth £650,000.

Carlos Ghosn leaves his lawyer’s office in Tokyo following his fourth arrest (Reuters)

The latest charge appears to be related to the investigation by Nissan’s French alliance partner Renault about payments in Oman to a major dealership, some of which is suspected of having been channelled for Mr Ghosn’s personal use.

Renault and Nissan uncovered payments that allegedly went toward corporate jets, a yacht and a startup run by Mr Ghosn’s son.

Mr Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing and called his arrest “outrageous and arbitrary”.

Mr Ghosn leaves a Tokyo detention centre in March wearing a surgical mask, glasses, a hat and a construction worker’s outfit (AP)

His representatives said: “The payments made by Renault to the distributor in Oman have not been diverted from their commercial objectives and under no circumstances has all or part of such payments benefited Carlos Ghosn or his family.”

Nissan has said Ghosn initiated financial misconduct that it later uncovered and had also used the company’s money for personal gain.

Mr Ghosn was a star in the car industry, having steered Nissan for two decades from the brink of bankruptcy to become one of the largest groups in the industry, allied with Renault and Mitsubishi.

His case has drawn international attention. His release from the Tokyo Detention Centre, although after nearly four months, was unusually quick for this nation, where long detentions without convictions are routine.