Carlos Ghosn arrested on new misconduct claims

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been arrested for a fourth time and jailed once again after his former employer accused him of diverting millions of dollars for his personal use.

Carrying out an early morning raid on Ghosn's Tokyo residence on Thursday, Japanese prosecutors lodged fresh claims that the former chairman of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance was liable for a breach of trust that cost Nissan some $5 million ($A7m).

Ghosn, 65, now finds himself back in the Tokyo detention centre he has already spent 108 days in following his initial arrest back in November 19.

Free for less than a month, Ghosn was only released from jail on bail on March 6.

Criticising the prosecutors' decision to re-arrest, Ghosn's legal team lashed out against the court's decision to detain him as the former Nissan boss posed no flight risk or threat of evidence tampering.

Accusing the prosecution of attempting to pressurise Ghosn to cave in, his lawyers went on to claim they had stripped him of evidence and documentation needed for his defence team to prepare for trial.

During the raid, Ghosn's lawyers noted that prosecutors seized notebooks, phones and other materials.

The investigators also reportedly took the passport and mobile phone of Ghosn's wife who was with him at the time.

"We cannot deny the possibility that the re-arrest was done for the purpose of taking these materials," Ghosn's lawyer said at press conference.

"As a civilised country this is something that must not be accepted.

"Using this re-arrest to put pressure on the defendant is hostage justice," claimed Ghosn's defence team.

Ghosn's lawyer went on to say another motivation behind the arrest was to keep Ghosn "under control" and "stop him speaking freely" - referencing a Tweet from the former Nissan boss to "tell the truth about what's happening" at a press conference on April 11.

It's not known how long Ghosn would be detained this time round.

Under Japanese law, a suspect can be held for 48 hours without charge, after then the prosecutors can apply to the court for an extension for 20 more days.

Responding to the new accusations Ghosn denied any wrongdoing, vowing he "would not be broken".

"My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary," Ghosn said in a statement.

"It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me?  I will not be broken," he said.

"I was scheduled to present my story in a press conference next week; by arresting me again, the prosecutors have denied me that opportunity for now, but I am determined that the truth will come out.

"I am confident that if tried fairly, I will be vindicated."

The latest charges claim that Ghosn arranged to have some $15 million ($A21m) transferred from a Nissan-owned subsidiary to a bank of an overseas sales representative.

As part of the transaction, the prosecutors say that Ghosn received a portion of the funds for his personal use through a bank account of a third company where his wife works.

It's thought the new charges stem from an internal Nissan investigation that found Ghosn approved payments of around $35 million ($A49m) to a Nissan distributor in Oman between 2011-2018.

Prosecutors claim the funds went to Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, which is run by Suhail Bahwan, a friend of Ghosn's.

The probe is said to have uncovered a scheme that used Nissan's cash, via Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, to purchase both a luxury yacht and finance a company owned by Ghosn's son.

The funds were then channelled through a company where Ghosn's wife works.

According to an earlier interview, Ghosn said other senior Nissan execs signed off the payments.

The indictments are already stacking up for the former Nissan boss, with prosecutors charging Ghosn for two counts of misreporting tens of millions of dollars in deferred compensation and a third for an alleged breach of trust.

If found guilty, the man once credited with saving Nissan could face up to 15 years in prison.