The Financial Services Agency said it ordered Nissan Motor Co. to pay ¥2.42 billion ($22 million) in fines for underreporting the remuneration of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn and other executives for years.
The fine, issued on Friday, is the second-highest imposed by the FSA. The heaviest fine, ¥7.37 billion, was imposed on Toshiba Corp. in 2015 for falsification of financial reports.
The penalty, recommended by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, was initially expected to reach ¥4 billion, based on the amount of pay left out of the documents Nissan submitted, but the automaker asked the watchdog for a reduction as it reported the matter before the investigation got fully underway. The SESC accepted Nissan's request.
Nissan said the same day it will "take the decision sincerely."
Friday's fine addresses the company's underreporting of executive remuneration over the four years through March 2018, for which the statute of limitations has not expired.
The SESC recommended the fine in December after filing a criminal complaint against both the automaker and Ghosn in 2018.
The securities watchdog alleged they violated the financial instruments law by underreporting Ghosn's pay package by around ¥9.1 billion in the eight years through March 2018.
But the former chairman jumped bail and fled to Lebanon in late December while awaiting trial on charges of underreporting of his remuneration and misusing company funds. He has denied all charges.