Nissan chairman faces arrest in Japan over false income report

Japanese prosecutors are expected to arrest Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, on suspicion of false income reports, local media reported on Monday.

The Tokyo Prosectors' Office is questioning Ghosn and is likely to arrest him soon and file charges, the Asahi Shimbun said on its website.

Nicknamed Le Cost Killer

The Nissan chairman is suspected of having underreported his income, the daily said.

The office declined to confirm the report, while Nissan had no immediate comment.

Nicknamed Le Cost Killer, Brazil-born Ghosn is known for overhauling Renault and Nissan starting in the nineties.

Renault came to the rescue of the then ailing Japanese automaker in 1999 and parachuted in Ghosn, who set about slashing costs and jobs in a huge corporate overhaul.

In 2016, Ghosn also took charge at troubled Mitsubishi after Nissan threw it a lifeline, buying a one-third stake for about $2.2-billion as it wrestled with a mileage-cheating scandal that hammered sales.

Ghosn has a high profile in Japan and is known as a major advocate of the country's auto sector.