Nissan Rebuffs Renault’s Demand for Shareholder Meeting

Nissan Motor Co. CEO Hiroto Saikawa has rejected Renault SA’s request for a quick shareholder meeting to discuss the crisis sparked by the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Saikawa says Nissan intends to first review its governance practices over the next few months and to complete the selection of a new chairman from its 19-member board. “We shouldn’t hurry,” he tells reporters.

Saikawa also tells reporters that he hopes Renault’s board will review Nissan’s evidence of Ghosn’s wrongdoing. The company presented a report on its internal investigation to Renault’s legal department a week ago. But Renault board has not yet received direct access to the findings.

Nissan’s self-assessment comes after Ghosn and the company itself were charged last week with underreporting Ghosn’s compensation by $43 million between 2000 and 2014. Prosecutors also are investigating new suspicions about a similar lack of reporting on $37 million in compensation between 2015 and 2017.

Ghosn, who was removed as chairman at Nissan and the carmaker’s Mitsubishi Motors affiliate three weeks ago, continues as chairman and CEO at Renault. But his duties there have been reassigned on an interim basis. Some Renault directors are pushing the board to name permanent replacements.