Ghosn charged again for using Nissan money to buy yacht

April 22 (UPI) -- Japanese prosecutors filed new charges Monday against former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, accusing him of siphoning payments from the automaker to buy a yacht.

This is the fourth charge made against Ghosn, for breach of trust, and the most serious. The others say he under-reported his income and shuffled Nissan's money around to cover investment losses.

Nissan said portions of the payments from Nissan to Good Faith Investments were redirected and "not necessary from a business standpoint." Ghosn, 65, is accused of causing nearly $5 million in financial damage to Nissan by moving money to Good Faith Investments, which Ghosn controlled.

"Such misconduct is completely unacceptable, and Nissan is requesting appropriately strict penalties," Nissan said.

In a video posted this month, Ghosn denied all the charges and called the investigation a conspiracy by "selfish" Nissan executives who don't support his alliance with Mitsubishi Motors and French automaker Renault. Ghosn said some Nissan executives feared a Renault takeover.

Ghosn's attorneys requested he be released on bail, but the new charges will extend his detention. He was first arrested in November and charged with additional counts earlier this month.