Ghosn Probe Zeros in on Special “CEO Reserve” Fund

Nissan Motor Co. investigators are examining an internal fund available to pay for personal expenses and various residences used by ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his family, sources tell Reuters.

The probe also is looking into the possible role of several company subsidiaries in allegations that Ghosn misused corporate funds and failed to report some $44 million in deferred compensation.

Reuters says the investigation is trying to determine whether payments to buy Ghosn’s several multi-million-dollar homes were split into $1 million portions and processed through Zi-A Capital BV, a relatively obscure Nissan subsidiary in the Netherlands.

ZI-A was set up in 2010 to invest in tech startups. Two of its four directors are Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former Nissan director also indicted on charges of aiding Ghosn’s alleged financial misconduct. A Reuters source says processing the housing payments through Zi-A and its affiliates in Dubai and the British Virgin Islands may have enabled them to escape the attention of Nissan’s central financial staff.

Another Reuters source says Nissan’s auditor, EY ShinNihon, raised questions in 2013 about Ghosn’s multiple homes and deferred compensation strategy. The auditors reportedly were told at the time that the flagged transactions and financial reporting practices were correct.