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Ministry: arrest of Renault-Nissan Chairman won’t affect alliance’s activities in Russia

Earlier, reports emerged that Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The arrest of Chairman of Nissan-Renault alliance Carlos Ghosn in Japan will not affect the activities of these companies in Russia, in particular the negotiations on a special investment contract, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Alexander Morozov told reporters at the Transport Week 2018 forum on Wednesday.

"Decisions that are made by such a large company as the Renault-Nissan alliance are made according to a specific procedure and never depend on one person," Morozov said answering a question about the impact of Gosn’s arrest on the negotiations.

Morozov stressed that the Industry and Trade Ministry was informed about the situation directly by representatives of the alliance.

"Renault and Nissan, and Mitsubishi, and the combined company separately participated in making that decision. The situation that occurred with the company’s management does not affect the strategic decisions made by the alliance and cannot affect them because any company’s operations are based on procedures," he added.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which owns a stake in Russian carmaker Avtovaz, is one of the world leaders in the industry. In the first six months of 2018, the alliance sold 5.54 mln vehicles worldwide.

Earlier, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that his ministry is expecting the signing of a special investment contract with the alliance after its application is finalized.

Carlos Ghosn and Nissan board member Greg Kelly were arrested on Monday by investigators from the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of violating Japanese financial law. According to investigators, over five years, Carlos Ghosn received about 10 bln yen (almost $89 mln) as remuneration from Nissan, but declared about half of this amount to evade taxes. It is expected that Carlos Ghosn will be officially dismissed from his post as chairman of the board of directors of Nissan on November 22.

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