The gravedigger of Carlos Ghosn falls in turn. Nissan Executive Director Hiroto Saikawa, caught up in a badly perceived premium scandal, will step down on September 16, the group announced Monday, Sept. 9, which is witnessing another episode of its deep crisis since the arrest and arrest. eviction of Carlos Ghosn.

The current operational director of the group, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, will act in the immediate future. Then, the nominating committee of the board of directors intends to choose "by the end of October" a successor to Hiroto Saikawa, said the chairman of the board of directors, Yasushi Kimura, during the meeting. a press conference at Nissan headquarters in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

The findings of Nissan's internal audit, presented to members of the Board on Monday, confirmed what Japanese media reported: In 2013, Hiroto Saikawa deliberately made sure that his share appreciation rights (SAR), a cash bonus corresponding to a capital gain related to the Nissan share price increase over a defined period, are inflated.

At the request of Hiroto Saikawa, the date of exercise of his SAR had been deferred for a week, resulting in an "illegitimate" increase of his premium to 47 million yen (about 400,000 euros at the current price), according to the audit of Nissan.

"I'm not proud"

Carlos Ghosn's 65-year-old successor, Hiroto Saikawa, has been Nissan's general manager since 2017, when his mentor handed over the group's executive orders.

After the arrest of Carlos Ghosn last November for alleged financial malpractice, Hiroto Saikawa had returned his jacket with a crash and set himself up as a model of virtue.

At that time, he had no words hard enough to castigate "the dark side" of the all-powerful Ghosn, who had been arrested in Japan, after an internal investigation by Nissan conducted in the greatest secrecy. His former mentor is now under house arrest in Tokyo pending his trial in 2020.

Too much associated with the Ghosn era

The days of Hiroto Saikawa at the head of Nissan seemed counted for several months: some shareholders were indeed demanding his departure, judging too associated with the Ghosn era.

The leader, who had already acknowledged the facts last week, made a surprise appearance at the end of Monday's press conference. "I'm not proud," he admitted. He nevertheless persisted in trying to distinguish his case from the "real intentional bad practices that have emerged since November, last December", in an allusion to Carlos Ghosn.

Many construction sites

His hasty departure arrives at an unfavorable moment for Nissan, whose profits and sales are at worst.

The group has also begun a major restructuring of its production activities, which will result in the elimination of 12,500 jobs worldwide.

Nissan and its French partner Renault are also trying to rebuild their alliance, undermined since the eviction of Carlos Ghosn, who was the keystone of the building.

Currently, Renault - of which the French State holds 15% of the capital - controls 43% of Nissan, which owns 15% of the tricolor manufacturer.