身陷囹圄的汽車行業高管卡洛斯·戈恩表示，自己之所以因為金融犯罪而被捕，源于日產高管針對他的“陰謀”，其目的是阻止這家日本汽車制造商與雷諾進行進一步的整合。

自2018年11月被捕之后，戈恩在他的首次公開采訪中向日本《日經新聞》透露，自己曾經計劃將日產、雷諾和第三方合作伙伴三菱汽車公司整合在一起。他表示，自己在去年9月與日產首席執行官西川廣人討論過擬議的合并。

戈恩自去年11月19日在東京被捕之后一直在監牢中。他被指控瞞報自己在日產的收入，高達數千萬美元，以及將個人交易損失臨時轉嫁給公司。

戈恩對《日經新聞》說，這些指控均源于“陰謀和背叛”。他一再否認自己存在任何不當行為，并且指出有人為了將其“趕出”公司而“歪曲事實”。

《日經新聞》稱其在監獄對戈恩進行了約20分鐘的采訪。在采訪公布數分鐘之后，日產發言人進行了回應，稱西川廣人此前拒絕了合并的提議。

公司在一份聲明中指出：“日產的調查揭示了大量有說服力的行為不當證據。”

美國證券交易委員會的調查

日本第二大汽車制造商這次搬起的石頭也砸了自己的腳，它在日本被指控誤報戈恩的薪酬，而且還面臨美國證券交易委員會的調查。多名知情人士稱，這家美國金融監管機構正在調查日產的高管薪酬披露是否準確，以及這家公司對于預防不當薪酬是否制定了充足的控制舉措。

日產稱，公司將全力配合調查。作為戈恩之前的門徒，西川廣人表示他打算在幾個月之后辭職，而在這之前，他將對公司羸弱的治理進行改革。他稱治理的不力削弱了日產的實力。

在被捕之前，戈恩意欲推動日產與雷諾進一步整合，包括去年彭博社報道的可能的合并，但日產對此表示拒絕，除非日產在合并后能夠掌握更多領域的話語權。

盡管這兩家公司都一再表示雙方十分重視這一合作關系，但日產長期以來認為法方在聯盟中的話語權過大，因此對這一關系并不是很滿意。雷諾持有日產43%的權益，擁有投票權，而日產則持有雷諾15%無投票權權益，同時法國政府是雷諾最有權勢的股東。

聯盟調查

知情人士稱，雷諾-日產聯盟的高管本周將在阿姆斯特丹會面，而負責管理兩家合作關系的公司便坐落于該市。知情人士還表示，這家公司聘請了法國審計師馬扎斯來調查聯盟之內可能存在的不當行為。

在上周日產免去戈恩董事長職務之后，戈恩也辭去了法國頭號汽車制造商雷諾的董事長兼首席執行官職務。盡管雷諾上周任命米其林首席執行官讓-多米尼克·瑟納德擔任其董事長，但日產還未公布戈恩的替代人選。

日本法院再次拒絕了戈恩的保釋要求，因為檢察官認為他有潛逃風險。他的律師稱，在6個月后可能進行的庭審之前，戈恩可能一直都得呆在監獄中。在采訪中，戈恩表示他不會潛逃，而且他打算直面這些指控。

在被問及健康狀況時，他說身體“還行”。

令日產雪上加霜的是，公司出現了10年以來首個全年業績下滑。周三，這家總部位于日本橫濱的公司表示，日產去年的全球汽車交付量下滑了2.8%，降至570萬輛，而公司也即將在2月12日宣布截至去年12月的季度收益。（財富中文網）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

Fallen auto titan Carlos Ghosn said his arrest for alleged financial crimes was the result of a “plot” against him by Nissan Motor Co. executives trying to prevent the Japanese carmaker’s deeper integration with Renault SA.

There was a plan to combine Nissan with Renault and third partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Ghosn told Japan’s Nikkei newspaper in his first published interview since being arrested in November 2018. The proposed merger was discussed with Nissan Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa in September, he said.

Ghosn has been in custody since his Nov. 19 arrest in Tokyo. He was indicted for allegedly understating his income at Nissan by tens of millions of dollars and temporarily transferring personal trading losses to the carmaker.

The allegations against him were the result of “plot and treason,” Ghosn told Nikkei. He repeated his denials of any wrongdoing and said people “distorted reality” for the purpose of “getting rid” of him.

Nikkei said it interviewed Ghosn for about 20 minutes at the jail. In a response issued minutes after the interview’s publication, a Nissan spokesman said Saikawa previously refuted the notion of a coup.

“Nissan’s investigation uncovered substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct,” the company said in a statement.

SEC Investigation

Japan’s second-biggest automaker is grappling with its own legal fallout from the scandal. It was indicted in Japan for misreporting Ghosn’s pay, and it also faces an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The U.S. financial regulator is examining whether Nissan’s executive-pay disclosures were accurate and whether the carmaker had adequate controls to prevent improper payments, several people familiar with the matter said.

Nissan said it’s cooperating fully with the inquiry. And Saikawa, a former protege of Ghosn who led the campaign against his ex-boss, said he intends to step down in coming months after reforming the poor governance he says weakened the Japanese carmaker.

Ghosn pushed for closer integration between Nissan and Renault before his arrest, including a possible merger that Bloomberg reported last year, but Nissan resisted a combination unless it would gain clout in more areas.

While both companies repeatedly say they are committed to the partnership, Nissan has long been unhappy about what it considers to be an outsized French role in the alliance. Renault owns about 43 percent of Nissan with voting rights, while Nissan has a 15 percent non-voting stake in Renault. The French government is the most powerful shareholder in Renault.

Alliance Probe

Renault-Nissan alliance executives will meet this week in Amsterdam, where the company that manages the carmakers’ partnership is based, people familiar with the matter said. The automakers hired the French auditor Mazars to investigate possible wrongdoing within their alliance, people with knowledge of the matter said this week.

Ghosn stepped down as chairman and CEO of Renault, France’s largest carmaker, last week after Nissan stripped him of his role as chairman. While Renault named Michelin CEO Jean-Dominique Senard as its chairman last week, Nissan has yet to name a replacement for Ghosn.

Japanese courts repeatedly denied Ghosn’s requests for bail after prosecutors argued he’s a flight risk, and his lawyers say he could stay in custody until a trial that may be six months away. In the interview, Ghosn said he isn’t a flight risk, and he intends to defend himself against the charges.

When asked about his health, he said he was “doing fine.”

Adding to the company’s challenges, Nissan reported its first full-year slump in auto sales in almost a decade. Global deliveries fell 2.8 percent last year to 5.7 million vehicles, the Yokohama, Japan-based carmaker said Wednesday. Nissan is due to announce earnings for the quarter ended December on Feb. 12.