Carlos Ghosn likely to resign as Renault chairman

Sacked Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is likely to step down from his position as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman of Renault, NHK sources said on Wednesday.

Ghosn has been in detention in Tokyo for two months on charges of financial misconduct. Since he was arrested on November 19 last year, the 64-year-old Brazilian-Lebanese businessman has been fired as chairman of both Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.

However, Ghosn is still the chairman and CEO of Renault. He was also in charge of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the automotive collaboration of France's Groupe Renault, Japan's Nissan Motors and Mitsubishi Motors.

The development comes as Renault is set to hold a board meeting on Thursday to select a new chief to replace Ghosn.

France, who is Renault's largest stakeholder, has insisted that a new chief should come on board to ensure stability.

A Tokyo court on Tuesday rejected another bail request filed by Ghosn, despite assuring prosecutors that he would wear a monitoring device and stay in Japan. This is the second time Ghosn's defence team had applied for bail.

The 64-year-old business magnate had pleaded to wear the electronic tag, give up his passport and pay for security guards approved by the prosecutors to secure his release.

The Brazilian-Lebanese businessman has been charged by Japanese prosecutors for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan and understating his income between 2010 and 2018.

Last December, Ghosn was re-arrested after new allegations surfaced on aggravated breach of trust in which the Brazilian-French businessman made Nissan shoulder USD 16.6 million in personal investment losses.