Nissan Motor has expanded its investigation into ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn to consist dealings that occurred in the United States, India and Latin America, three people with information of the inquiry stated.
In one aspect of their internal investigation, company investigators are looking into decisions made in the United States by Jose Munoz who led Nissan’s North American operations from 2014 to 2018, the people stated. Munoz was recently put on a leave of absence due to the investigation, they added.
Nissan stated this month that Munoz, its chief performance officer and majorly seen within the industry as near to Ghosn, was on leave “to permit him to assist the company by focusing on special tasks arising from recent events.”
Munoz is not collaborating with investigators, two of the people with knowledge of the investigation stated, both describing his actions as “stonewalling”.
One of the sources referred Munoz, who presently heads Nissan’s China operations, as a “person of interest” in the investigation, adding that it was not clear if he would be accused of any misconduct.
Munoz, 53, did not answer to Reuters requests for comment. The people with details of the probe talked to Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. A lawyer for Ghosn, Motonari Otsuru, said in an emailed comment: “I am unaware of this.”
