Record fine heading Nissan's way

Nissan has expressed regret after Japan’s stock-market watchdog recommended a massive ¥2.4 billion fine for underreporting the scale of Carlos Ghosn’s pay packet.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) yesterday recommended the fine after trawling through the revelations in the bitter boardroom battle, which saw Ghosn removed from his chairmanship of the Japanese car-maker.

The record fine for Nissan, which clocked up around ¥11.6 trillion in sales last year, will rank behind only Toshiba Corp in the history of SESC fines.

It comes on the back of Nissan and Ghosn being fined $US16 million for the same reason by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in September.

Ghosn, who was been in an out of solitary confinement after being arrested a year ago on allegations of understating his salary package by ¥9.1 billion over a decade, continues to proclaim his innocence.

He is even suing Nissan and Mitsubishi for $US15 million over the scandal.

The recommended fine will be the second biggest in Japanese history and covers the four-year period from April 2014 to March 2018. The SESC cannot recommend a fine dating back any further than that due to Japan’s statute-of-limitations rules.

“The Company takes this recommendation extremely seriously and will consider its response after receiving the official notice,” Nissan said in a statement.

“In the absence of any special circumstances or other reasons, the Company intends not to dispute the alleged facts and the amount of the administrative monetary penalty.

“The Company expresses sincere regret for any concern caused to our valued stakeholders, and will continue its efforts to strengthen its governance and ensure that the Company’s operations reflect full awareness of the importance of compliance.”

Combined with its Renault and Mitsubishi Alliance partners, Nissan sold 10,756,875 cars last year to rank as the third largest car making partnership in the world, behind only Toyota and the Volkswagen Group.