Sep 05 (Nikkei) - Nissan Motor CEO Hiroto Saikawa is under suspicions that he improperly added 47 million yen ($443,000) to his compensation by tweaking the terms of a performance-based bonus, according to an internal investigation by the Japanese automaker.
The issue laid out in a report to Nissan's auditing committee Wednesday relates to stock appreciation rights, an incentive plan linked to the share price. In May 2013, the company reportedly let Saikawa push back the predetermined payout date for this bonus by a week to capture a rise in the stock.
This might have run counter to internal company rules, according to the report.
The automaker began the probe in response to a magazine interview in June of former Nissan representative director Greg Kelly in which the allegations were first aired.
