Nissan CEO Faces Board Grilling on Home Purchase

Nissan Motor Co. CEO Hiroto Saikawa faces questioning today about whether he violated corporate policy in 2013 to buy a home in Tokyo, sources tell Bloomberg News.

A special board meeting will ask Saikawa whether he asked Nissan to buy the house and permit him to pay for it in installments, according to the news service. It says the board also will seek to determine whether the terms that allow him to sell shares he received as part of his compensation package were altered to help him pay for the property.

Misconduct on both counts has been alleged by Greg Kelly, a former Nissan board member. Kelly was arrested last November on suspicion of helping then-Chairman Carlos Ghosn hide $82 million in deferred compensation. Ghosn awaits trial on multiple charges of financial crimes.

Saikawa has insisted he used his own money to buy the Tokyo house but so far has refused to discuss the purchase with Nissan’s board, according to Bloomberg.

The board’s special meeting comes the day before Nissan’s annual shareholder meeting, where the same questions are likely to be raised by investors.