Ghosn denies reports he passed trading losses to Nissan

Carlos Ghosn, the embattled former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., denied reports that he passed on personal trading losses to the carmaker.

TOKYO: Carlos Ghosn, the embattled former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., denied reports that he passed on personal trading losses to the carmaker, the first formal comment from the executive who is detained on numerous allegations of financial misdeeds.

Ghosn acknowledged consulting Nissan about the collateral related to the contract, but did not transfer the losses to the automaker, Motonari Otsuru, a lawyer representing the former chairman said.

 Otsuru, the former director of the same Tokyo prosecutors’ office department that is now investigating Ghosn, spoke to Bloomberg News after meeting with the detained official.

The Asahi newspaper reported yesterday that Ghosn may have passed 1.7 billion yen ($14.9 million) in personal investment losses relating to a derivatives contract on to the company in 2008.

The comments are the first attempt by the 64-year-old Ghosn to defend himself after the automaker said he misused company money for personal matters and understated income. 

Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo Nov. 19 and Japanese media have since then published details of the alleged violations on an almost daily basis.

Ghosn, who hasn’t made any public statements since he was detained, denies wrongdoing in connection with the allegations, broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday. - Bloomberg