Nissan has opened an investigation into allegations by a senior adviser that its chief executive, Makoto Uchida, had his outgoing deputy, Ashwani Gupta, monitored, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The surveillance charges, first reported by the Financial Times, were made by Nissan senior adviser Hari Nada, 59, in a letter dated April 19 to independent directors of the Japanese automaker’s board.
The letter, which Reuters was able to see and which is reporting the details for the first time, mentions the surveillance allegations, deep divisions within management over Nissan’s relationship with partner Renault and concerns over intellectual property transfers to the French. Automobile manufacturer.
A dispute over the terms of the alliance restructuring
In his letter, Hari Nada, whose cooperation with Japanese prosecution magistrates helped bring down former CEO Carlos Ghosn, claims Makoto Uchida put Ashwani Gupta under surveillance for a long period. He adds that Makoto Uchida ordered the surveillance to give him weapons to remove Ashwani Gupta from the group. Appointed deputy chief executive in 2019, Ashwani Gupta was in conflict with the chief executive over the terms of the alliance restructuring negotiated between Nissan and its partner Renault and was seen as an obstacle to finalizing the deals, according to the letter from Hari Nada and four people familiar with the matter.
When asked about the surveillance investigation, Nissan said: “Independent third parties have been appointed to verify the facts and take appropriate action.” Hari Nada does not specify in his letter how he found out that Ashwani Gupta was being watched.
A sexual harassment investigation against Ashwani Gupta
Under Japanese law, a company can monitor communications on work phones and computers and investigate an employee’s conduct outside of working hours to protect its business interests, says Akira Takeuchi, a lawyer and certified fraud examiner in Tokyo.
Hari Nada also sent his letter to the Director of Human Resources, the Head of Legal Affairs and the Head of Intellectual Property of Nissan.
Nissan announced on May 12 that Ashwani Gupta, 52, would not be re-elected to the board when his term expires on June 27. On June 16, the Japanese group added that he had chosen to leave Nissan to pursue other opportunities. In his letter, Hari Nada says Nissan has investigated allegations about Ashwani Gupta’s behavior during the week of April 10 and has asked him to resign. He said that he understood that the Japanese law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune had conducted an investigation into the allegations against Ashwani Gupta. Three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the investigation focused on allegations of sexual harassment against Ashwani Gupta made by an employee. The charges were filed in March and the investigation was not complete when Ashwani Gupta’s resignation was announced, a source said.
Ashwani Gupta reportedly delayed finalizing deals
Details of Hari Nada’s letter show that five years after former Renault and Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn fell from grace, the Japanese carmaker remains divided over ties to its French partner. After long months of intense talks, Renault and Nissan reached an agreement in January to reorganize their alliance for the next 15 years, with a rebalancing of stakes and a freer operation, project by project.
The two partners planned to have their respective boards approve the final deals by midyear, but that goal has been pushed back to the end of 2023, according to two sources with knowledge of the negotiations. According to a source familiar with Renault’s position, the management of the diamond group believed that Ashwani Gupta was hindering the finalization of the agreements with Nissan, the principles of which, however, had been validated by the boards of directors of the two groups and detailed publicly. . on February 6 in London.
A warning to the anti-Renaults?
In his April letter, Hari Nada believes that Makoto Uchida overstepped his duties by offering Renault concessions and promises through what he calls “behind-the-scenes deals” with his counterpart Luca de Meo, including the intellectual property of which he gives Two examples. Hari Nada also criticizes the general director of Nissan for the commitment to invest up to 15% in Ampère without having demonstrated the strategic interest of the operation for the Japanese group. This is the second time that this senior adviser has opposed a Nissan executive on the issue of protecting the group’s interests in the context of his association with Renault.
Before his arrest in 2018, Carlos Ghosn had considered a complete merger of the two groups. The former leader, who has since taken refuge in Lebanon after fleeing Japan, denounced the lawsuit against him as a coup by Nissan executives, including Hari Nada, opposed to the prospect of further rapprochement. Hari Nada, who escaped prosecution in the Ghosn case in exchange for his cooperation with the Japanese magistrates in charge of the prosecution, explained at the time that he was moved by the hypothesis studied by Carlos Ghosn of a complete merger between Renault and Nissan. .
The senior adviser is a member of two steering committees created by Nissan after the Ghosn affair to ensure control of individual actions within management. In his letter, he believes one of these committees is trying to make a case for investing in Ampère, but has so far been unable to find anything credible. Ashwani Gupta’s abrupt departure could serve as a warning to anyone within Nissan who is seen as less than complacent or anti-Renault, Hari Nada adds in his letter.
Source: BFM TV
