of Nissan’ s lawyers, recalled that he had“ deep misgivings” about Ghosn’ s surprise arrest.
“ I was called into Hari Nada’ s office … and told there was going to be a dramatic arrest. Arranged for maximum publicity,” he told the BBC.“ When you lie to someone, to get them back into a particular jurisdiction, so that you can have them arrested in a very public manner, that says a lot about what’ s going on.”
Passi later revealed Nada, in exchange for immunity, allegedly participated in the same financial arrangements that led to Ghosn’ s arrest. On the other hand, Nissan emphasised that its investigations on Ghosn were“ robust and thorough”, and the evidence was“ substantial and convincing” enough to push through with the arrest.
Ghosn, awaiting trial, was kept in custody for 108 days, mostly in solitary confinement. Japanese police interrogated the ex-CEO, even without a lawyer present- something Ghosn claims to“ psychological coercion” and a violation of human rights. He was denied communication and bail at first but was released upon paying bail of JPY 1 billion( AUD 10.5 million). His conditional release also included constant surveillance and a continued ban on communicating with his wife, Carole Ghosn.
In the end, Ghosn escaped before he could be tried. His escape is the most infamous aspect of this scandal, as he hid in an equipment box on a private jet charted for Lebanon. Fortunately for Ghosn, Lebanon has no extradition rights with Japan and declined to turn Ghosn over to Japanese authorities.
Now labelled an international fugitive, Ghosn is unable to leave Lebanese territory but lives in a mansion and leisurely takes out his yacht- both of which Nissan claims were bought on company dime.
WHAT WE CAN LEARN
After the incident, Nissan announced that the company has“ strengthened its governance structure by making it more independent and transparent,” bolstering its internal auditing procedures. While this is the next logical step for Nissan, there’ s more to be learned from the entirety of Ghosn’ s tenure as their CEO.
Lauded as Nissan’ s“ boardroom superstar,” there’ s no doubt that Ghosn had a progressive impact on Nissan’ s culture and an even more positive one in the wake of its financial crisis. His fast and successful results were the products of a ruthless strategy that cost thousands of people their jobs. While his approach may be deemed necessary and a justifiable means to a profitable end, aggressive cost-cutting and lay-offs are not band aid solutions. Turning a company around doesn’ t stop there.
Some shoot for the stars and land on the moon then make do from there, but other tactics involve setting up goals so lofty they’ ll sacrifice themselves or other people to achieve it. Noting that Nissan may have needed an overhaul at the time, it begs the question: Were Ghosn’ s practices fair knowing that he profited from the company more than anyone did?
Ghosn’ s arrest in 2018 exposed a common crime in large companies, corruption. Like Volkswagen’ s case, the ex-CEO’ s willingness to violate the law and corporate ethics signals a hidden greed for more. This greed is not present in just one or two types of occupations or industries. There could be greed hiding in the most unexpected places, not just in a board room or a bank. Sometimes, even the smallest acts of taking a little more can snowball into a crisis.
Where the Volkswagen case’ s greed manifested outwardly, the aspect of greed in Nissan’ s Ghosn scandal manifested internally. Continuous acts of deception and theft caused the company to implode, leaving the overall brand reputation and company trust damaged in the aftermath.
Safety is also about trust. If it is hard for an organisation to maintain trust within itself, it will be even harder for it to convince the public that it is reliable.
Don’ t let greed crowd your vision, especially if you’ ve got a good one. The world is in need of people with integrity and the willpower to back it up, even when times get too easy or too tough. A good leader will help a company meet its goals, but a great leader will help the entire organisation usher in success and sustainability for everyone.
50 ISSUE 54 AUGUST 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU