{"id":1955736,"date":"2023-06-23T19:30:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T23:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo-put-deputy-under-surveillance\/"},"modified":"2023-06-23T19:31:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T23:31:09","slug":"exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo-put-deputy-under-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo-put-deputy-under-surveillance\/","title":{"rendered":"Nissan probes allegations of CEO&#8217;s surveillance on deputy."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo-put-deputy-under-surveillance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1955736&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Daniel Leussink, Norihiko Shirouzu and Maki Shiraki<\/p>\n<p>TOKYO (Reuters) \u2013 Nissan has launched an investigation into claims by a senior adviser that Chief Executive Makoto Uchida carried out surveillance of his deputy Ashwani Gupta, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px;  text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>The surveillance claims, first reported by the Financial Times, were made by Hari Nada, 58, a senior adviser at Nissan, in a letter dated April 19 to the independent directors on the Japanese automaker\u2019s board.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters, which has reviewed the letter, is the first to disclose its specific details. They relate to the surveillance claims, a stark split in senior management over Nissan\u2019s relationship with Renault and concerns about transfers of intellectual property to the French carmaker.<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, Nada said Uchida carried out surveillance over a long period. Nada said it was an effort to acquire leverage to remove an executive and board member the Nissan chief executive regarded as an obstacle to reaching a new deal with alliance partner Renault.<\/p>\n<p>Gupta, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo-put-deputy-under-surveillance\/\" title=\"Nissan probes allegations of CEO's surveillance on deputy.\">appointed chief operating officer<\/a> in 2019, had questioned the terms of the revised agreement Uchida is looking to finalise with Renault, according to Nada\u2019s letter and the four people with knowledge of the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Asked to comment on the surveillance investigation, Nissan said in response to Reuters: \u201cIndependent third parties have been retained to verify facts and carry out appropriate actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nissan declined any further comment for this story.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters was unable to determine who was conducting the investigation for Nissan. It started in late May, one person with direct knowledge of the matter said.<\/p>\n<p>Nada did not detail in the letter how he knew of the alleged surveillance of Gupta. Reuters was unable to confirm independently that any surveillance took place.<\/p>\n<p>HARASSMENT ALLEGATION<\/p>\n<p>Under Japanese law, a company can monitor communications on corporate phones and computers and investigate an employee\u2019s conduct outside work in protecting its business interests, said Akira Takeuchi, a lawyer and certified fraud examiner in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other cases, actions outside the company could be considered private and investigation there could be viewed as excessive,\u201d he said, emphasising that he was speaking in general and not about Nissan.<\/p>\n<p>Gupta and Nada did not comment in response to requests from Reuters. Nissan declined to make Uchida, its board directors, or other recipients of Nada\u2019s letter available for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Other recipients included Nissan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-school-district-hires-high-school-students-due-to-short-staffing\/\" title=\"Missouri School District Hires High School Students Due to Short Staffing\">chief human resources officer<\/a>, its global general counsel, and head of intellectual property.<\/p>\n<p>Nissan said on May 12 that Gupta, 52, who had been widely seen as a candidate to become chief executive, would not be reappointed to the board when his term expired.<\/p>\n<p>Nissan announced last week that Gupta had chosen to leave the company on June 27, the day of the automaker\u2019s annual shareholder meeting, to pursue other opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Nada said in the letter that Nissan reviewed allegations about Gupta\u2019s conduct in the week of April 10 and that he had been asked to resign. He said he understood Japanese law firm Anderson Mori &#038; Tomotsune had led an investigation into the allegations against Gupta.<\/p>\n<p>Three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the investigation was into an allegation of harassment against Gupta from a female employee. The allegation was made in March and the investigation had not been concluded at the time Gupta\u2019s resignation was announced, one person said.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters was unable to confirm independently the nature of the harassment complaint, or any findings of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson Mori &#038; Tomotsune declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>NISSAN DIVIDED<\/p>\n<p>The previously unreported details of the letter underscore how five years after the arrest of Nissan\u2019s former chief executive Carlos Ghosn for allegedly hiding his income, among other financial charges, Nissan remains divided over its ties to Renault.<\/p>\n<p>Ghosn was dispatched by Renault in 1999 to turn Nissan around after the French company bailed it out and became the driving force behind a strategic alliance struck later that year, in which both companies took stakes in each other.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, after months of tense talks, Nissan and Renault announced new partnership terms in February under which the Japanese automaker would take a stake of up to 15% in Ampere, an electric vehicle unit Renault is spinning off, and Renault would reduce its 43% stake in Nissan.<\/p>\n<p>The automakers aimed to have a final deal approved by their boards by the middle of the year, but that target has slipped to the end of 2023, two people with knowledge of the talks said.<\/p>\n<p>Senior executives at the French carmaker, such as Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and Chief Executive Luca de Meo, had viewed Gupta as slowing down or blocking the completion of the deal, a person with knowledge of Renault\u2019s position said.<\/p>\n<p>A Renault spokesperson declined to comment and said both executives declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Nada said in his April letter that he believed Nissan CEO Uchida had overstepped his authority by making concessions and commitments in what he called backroom deals with de Meo. Nada cited two cases, both involving provisions relating to Nissan\u2019s intellectual property.<\/p>\n<p>A Renault spokesperson declined to comment and said de Meo also declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Anything Uchida discussed with his Renault counterpart would be subject to review by Nissan\u2019s board with input from executive committees, one person with knowledge of the deliberations said.<\/p>\n<p>ANTI-RENAULT<\/p>\n<p>In his letter, Nada also criticised Uchida for pressing ahead with the decision to buy a stake in Ampere without establishing a strategic rationale and called for an independent financial adviser to review the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters was unable to determine if the directors had acted on Nada\u2019s call for a review.<\/p>\n<p>Nada\u2019s letter marks the second time he has squared off against Nissan\u2019s top boss over the Japanese automaker\u2019s dealing with Renault. <\/p>\n<p>Ghosn had been considering a full merger of the companies before his arrest in 2018. After fleeing to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan, he has repeatedly described the case against him as a coup by Nissan executives, including Nada, who were alarmed by the prospect of a merger.<\/p>\n<p>Nada, who had cooperated with prosecutors in exchange for avoiding prosecution in the Ghosn case, testified in the related prosecution of former Nissan director Greg Kelly that he believed a merger with Renault had to be stopped to protect Nissan\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n<p>Nada is a member of two executive committees established by Nissan in 2019 as part of a governance reform after the Ghosn scandal. He said in his letter that one of those committees had been trying to develop a rationale for Nissan\u2019s agreed Ampere investment, but had been unable to provide anything credible.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters was unable to confirm independently Nada\u2019s characterisation of the Ampere investment review.<\/p>\n<p>Gupta\u2019s sudden removal would serve as a warning to others perceived as being difficult or anti-Renault, Nada also wrote.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> (Additional reporting by David Dolan in Tokyo and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and David Clarke)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo\/attachment\/news-conference-at-nissans-sunderland-plant-in-sunderland\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo\/attachment\/flags-of-japan-france-and-nissan-are-seen-at-nissan\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo\/attachment\/nissan-and-renault-unveil-agreement-to-reboot-24-year-old-alliance\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo\/attachment\/nissan-motor-co-s-global-headquarters-building-is-pictured-in-yokohama\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/exclusive-nissan-investigates-claims-ceo\/attachment\/nissan-and-renault-unveil-agreement-to-reboot-24-year-old-alliance-2\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>More GOP candidates are entering the 2024 presidential election, with many speculating why now? One America\u2019s Monica Paige reports.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee Missouri Congressman Jason Smith, who approved the release of IRS whistleblower material related to Hunter Biden tells One America News that the transcript reveals people who are wealthy or connected to Joe Biden are treated much more favorably than anyone else. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>GOP presidential hopeful Asa Hutchinson says his campaign is the only one with a breadth of experience to take on the challenges facing the nation<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy says if he\u2019s elected, he will shut down corrupt bureaucracy. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Sudip Kar-Gupta BRUSSELS (Reuters) \u2013 Belgium\u2019s FSMA regulator on Friday ordered Binance to cease offering any virtual currency services in the\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) \u2013 European Union industry chief Thierry Breton on Thursday defended draft rules aimed at preventing non-EU\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>(Reuters) \u2013 Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX is offering to sell insider shares at a price that would raise the company\u2019s valuation to about\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>By Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil and Indranil Sarkar (Reuters) -All three global investors at Byju\u2019s confirmed on Friday that their representatives had\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nissan investigates allegations that CEO Makoto Uchida surveilled his deputy Ashwani Gupta, according to sources. The claims, initially reported by the Financial Times, prompted the company to launch an investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1955737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1955736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1955736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1955737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1955736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1955736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1955736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}