Nissan board members voted unanimously to sack Carlos Ghosn as chairman on Thursday, a spectacular fall from grace for the once-revered boss who was stripped of the role while languishing in a Japanese jail. Ghosn stands accused of under-reporting his income by millions of dollars and a host of other financial irregularities, alleged after a months-long internal Nissan probe following a whistleblower report.
His ouster as chairman represents an astonishing turnaround for the titan of the auto sector who revived the Japanese brand and forged an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, which sold a combined 10.6 million cars last year - more than any other firm.
It also throws the future of the alliance into doubt, as Ghosn was the architect of the fractious tie-up - which employs 450,000 people globally - and the glue holding it together.
"After reviewing a detailed report of the internal investigation, the board voted unanimously ... to discharge Carlos Ghosn as chairman of the board," the statement said.
Nissan also stressed its "long-standing... partnership with Renault remains unchanged" and that "the mission is to minimise the potential impact and confusion on the day-to-day cooperation" between the firms.
Renault's board has so far stood by Ghosn - naming his deputy to handle day-to-day business - but the board of Mitsubishi Motors was reportedly set to meet on Monday to discuss his future.
Prosecutors intercepted the Brazil-born tycoon Monday as he landed in Tokyo on a private jet, accusing him and another executive Greg Kelly of understating the chairman's income by around $44 million between June 2011 and June 2015.
His fate as Nissan chairman appeared sealed just hours later as his hand-picked successor as CEO, Hiroto Saikawa launched an impassioned broadside at his former mentor, muttering about a "dark side" to the Ghosn era and urging his sacking.
Even after being jettisoned as chairman, Ghosn remains technically a member of the board as a full shareholders' meeting is required to remove him.
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