Ghosn whistleblower faces pressure to leave Nissan, reports say

TOKYO -- Hari Nada, a central figure at Nissan who was instrumental in the downfall of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and a key go-between in the automaker's talks with partner Renault, is under pressure to leave the company following a pay scandal, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The push to oust Nada, 55, which has the support of Renault, may lead to him being forced to resign and could come as soon as this Tuesday's board meeting, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public.

Nada is cooperating with Japanese prosecutors under a plea-bargaining agreement in their case against Ghosn for financial crimes, the people told Bloomberg.

The Financial Times also reported that Nada is under pressure to quit as powerful internal factions wrestle for control of the automaker. Nissan’s struggle to fill the leadership vacuum left by Ghosn's arrest has led to a boardroom civil war, the paper said.

There have been increasing questions from executives at Nissan and Renault into why Nada was allowed to remain involved in the probe on Ghosn in recent months. Pressure for his removal is widespread, the Financial Times said.

Nada, a lawyer who studied in the UK and Japan, is a senior vice president at Nissan and worked in the CEO's office under Ghosn and his successor, Hiroto Saikawa.

Nada was recently implicated in a scandal at the company involving excess stock-linked compensation, which led to Saikawa's resignation last month. Nada is expected to be a key witness in Ghosn's trial next year.

Nada has come under increasing scrutiny after the New York Times reported on Sunday he had received "unjust enrichment," citing a review by an external law firm hired by the automaker.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that some Nissan lawyers said that Nada, who oversees Nissan's legal department and had previously worked closely with Ghosn on sensitive matters, needed to do more to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Malaysian-born Nada has been at Nissan since the 1990s and had worked closely with Greg Kelly, the other Nissan executive arrested along with Ghosn in November. Ghosn and Kelly have denied all charges.

Nada is said to have been closely involved with many aspects of the chairman's compensation, serving as one of three administrators of Zi-A Capital BV, a Dutch subsidiary of Nissan created by Kelly that purchased a house for Ghosn in Beirut.

Nada was also aware of documents proposing that payments totaling as much as $80 million be made to Ghosn after his eventual retirement, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Prior to Ghosn's arrest, Nada and an administrator named Toshiaki Onuma were said to have become concerned that some of what they saw might be criminal, and eventually approached Japanese authorities.

Facing the risk of becoming subjects of interest in the inquiry, they secured cooperation agreements under new judicial rules allowing plea bargains, in exchange for providing evidence against Ghosn.

"He will continuously be a Nissan member and he has no reason to leave," Nissan spokeswoman Azusa Momose said of Nada, and declined to make him available for comment.

Nada did not respond to an emailed message seeking comment and did not answer his phone when contacted by Bloomberg News.

"If the Nissan board proposes calling for (Nada's) exit, Renault representatives will probably vote in favor of the proposal," said a source close to Renault. The French company has a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan.

A representative for Renault declined to comment.

Nissan's board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, where they will discuss candidates for CEO. The directors have set a deadline for end-October to announce a new leader, and are considering a short list of three candidates, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Reuters contributed to this report