Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn charged

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has formally been charged with financial misconduct for under-reporting his income.

The car company itself has also been charged - accused of making false statements in annual reports.

Prosecutors say Mr Ghosn - known as "Le Cost Killer" for his ruthless approach to leading turnarounds of Nissan and Renault - is suspected of under-reporting his income by 5 billion yen (£34m) over five years from 2010 to 2015.

Mr Ghosn, 64, and another executive, 62-year-old Greg Kelly - accused of collaborating with him - have been held since last month. Kelly has now also been charged.

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Authorities also re-arrested Mr Ghosn on Monday on separate allegations that he under-reported his income by a further 4 billion yen (£28m) over the past three years.

Mr Ghosn denies the charges and is in a "combative" frame of mind, sources at Renault (LSE: 0NQF.L - news) told the AFP news agency.

The car boss still formally leads the French company - though it has appointed an interim boss while he is "temporarily incapacitated" - which is linked in an alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi (LSE: 7035.L - news) .

But the two Japanese firms have both sacked him as chairman.

Nissan said after the charges against it were announced: "Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan's public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret."

Its alleged crime could result in a fine of up to 700 million yen (£5m).

Meanwhile, the company is appealing to a court in Rio de Janeiro to block access by Brazilian-born Ghosn's representatives to a luxury apartment on Copacabana beach.