What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 463 Overturning
Guo Shanfeng is an old friend of the financial industry.

Since its first attack on Fenzhong Media in January 2009, it has gone from an unknown nobody to a major short seller whose research reports are widely reprinted by various media outlets. The only thing that hasn't changed is its mysterious background.

The last time the "Mountain Peak" (a short-selling firm) made a move was against the Canadian pharmaceutical company Vania. At that time, because it had neither "prophetic" statements nor its usual concrete evidence, it was questioned, analyzed, and lamented that the most mysterious short seller had changed its style. This time, it has returned to the familiar "Mountain Peak".

However, this short-selling report on Renault was not complicated. It only took one page to print out. It started with "Deception will last forever," and the main body pointed out that Renault had emissions cheating problems. Then it listed five models that were tested and gave the results of exceeding the standards by 5 to 10 times. Finally, it was a simple summary and "See you next time."

Guo Shanfeng didn't mention the stock price, didn't speculate on Renault's motives for emissions fraud, and didn't estimate the sales of Renault models affected. He simply listed what he knew, which led the media who were already familiar with Guo Shanfeng to almost take a stand.

Renault, stop pretending. The sooner you invest, the easier it will be.

Of course, this kind of straightforward argument is more common on Twitter, Facebook, forums, and online news from smaller media outlets. Mainstream serious media mostly just report on the matter, at most making a few sarcastic remarks or guiding the narrative by suggesting that the problem of car emissions is easy to detect and replicate.

Within half a day, the internet, media, industry, and competitors all learned of the situation and were very interested in what would happen next, including Volkswagen, another European automaker.

As the CEO's newly appointed and favored secretary, Mary rushed into the office immediately upon seeing the news and offered her insightful suggestions.

"Martin, Martin, Renault is cheating on emissions! Honey, have you seen the news?" Mary proudly placed a page of the report on the mountain peak in front of Martin Winterkorn, whose brows were furrowed, and laughed, "I remember you said last time that we and Renault were in big competition in diesel cars, now is the perfect opportunity to publicize their cheating!"

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn glanced at the short-selling report in front of him and shoved the paper away as if there was something dirty on it.

His face was somewhat gloomy, and he rebuked his secretary, with whom he had been intimate the night before, without hesitation: "What are you saying! How could I do such a thing! Get out! Don't let me see you again!"

Mary had no idea what Martin had gone crazy about, and caught off guard, she could only stare blankly and helplessly at the CEO in front of her who was in charge of the entire Volkswagen Group.

She stood there stunned for several seconds, her blue eyes pleading, "I...I..."

Martin could no longer appreciate those eyes he used to love so much; he simply frowned and said, "Get out!"

Mary's lips trembled slightly, and she disappeared from the office with her head down.

Martin listened to the door close, lit a cigarette, and then noticed the short-selling report that his secretary hadn't taken away.

He burned off the name "Guoshanfeng" with a cigarette butt, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it into the trash can. He couldn't help but feel anxious for his competitor Renault. How could you be targeted by Guoshanfeng?

The fact that five models were exposed so easily suggests that there must be a mole within Renault!

Renault! You need to conduct a thorough internal investigation!

Ghosn! Is this how you build industry alliances?!

Martin was filled with irritation and resentment towards Ghosn, whom he had met many times in the past.

When Mitsubishi was being shorted, he learned a little about this most mysterious short seller in the world and read a lot of media analysis. The general consensus was that the peak wouldn't be too large. If that's the case, how did it manage to pick the automotive industry out of so many sectors, Renault out of so many car companies, and the diesel model with emissions cheating out of so many Renault models?

After learning that the mountain peak pointed directly to Renault's emissions fraud, Martin sat in his office for a long time, answering phone calls and constantly searching for the latest media updates, afraid that they would notice a sensitive issue.

Diesel models! All five Renault models involved in emissions cheating are diesel models!
Fortunately, so far, this point has not been specifically mentioned, and even when crossing the mountain peak, the focus was not specifically on the "diesel" category.

Martin was quite apprehensive.

Just then, the office door was hurriedly pushed open again, and Horst, the group's director, walked in with a pale face.

Horst is not only a member of the Volkswagen Group's board of directors, but also the head of technology development, making him an absolute core executive.

Therefore, he was very clear about everything. The first thing he did when he saw the emerging mountain peak was to feel the same fear and trepidation. This is... Renault did this too?

When he saw Ghosn's innocence response the next moment, he could only wail in his heart. "Go Ghosn, go ahead and be stubborn like Guo Shanfeng! Just admit it honestly and accept the punishment, and quickly calm things down instead of letting this vortex expand!"
Horst sat down in front of Martin, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly before finally managing to utter, "What do we do?"

“They’re not shorting us.” Martin lit another cigarette, his expression somber. “The peak didn’t mention Volkswagen. If they knew, they probably would have mentioned it this time.”

Horst covered his face with his hands, and after a long while said worriedly, "That's a mountain peak..."

It's 100% guaranteed to cross the mountain!
No one survived!

When crossing a mountain peak, every move must draw blood!
First Mitsubishi, then Renault, why is this damn mountain peak just stuck in the automotive world?
Horst had never seen Shanfeng short-sell Volkswagen, but he felt even more uneasy and uncomfortable: "If only I knew who Shanfeng was, I could contact him, cooperate, and put pressure on him..."

Martin sighed; he had thought of that too.

If you know who's behind the mountain peak, you can use threats and inducements!
Horst took a couple of breaths and suddenly mentioned his discovery: "The mountain peaks attacked Mitsubishi and Renault, all within Ghosn's automotive alliance. Perhaps there are things we don't know about. We can't let things spread like this."

Martin rubbed his temples and said wearily, "I talked to them before you came, and everyone thinks we should wait and see. Our skills are very good, and we shouldn't be able to spot you when we cross the mountain."

"They" are naturally insiders within the group, and "technology" refers to Volkswagen's cheating techniques.

Horst murmured, repeating what he had just said: "That's a mountain peak..."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Martin stood up irritably, took a few steps, then plopped down on the desk, staring at the uneasy Horst. "What ideas do you have?"

“Since the problem might be within Ghosn’s automotive alliance, can you put pressure on Ghosn to resolve this quickly?” Horst said. “Renault is definitely at fault! Make Ghosn admit it! Stop with the excuses of innocence!”

Martin remained silent, continuing to stare at Horst.

After a moment, he felt that this was at least a feasible suggestion, better than doing nothing.

Martin immediately took out his phone, found Ghosn's number, and dialed it.

The call was connected in about ten seconds.

Ghosn remained silent on the other end of the phone.

Martin said in a very calm tone, "Ghosn, can you hear me? Are you listening?"

Ghosn's voice sounded hoarse: "I'm listening. I'm at the airport in Tokyo. What's up?"

“Ghosn, I respect you, I respect Renault. Although I’ve never said it to you in person, I’ve always been amazed by your achievements at Nissan.” Martin’s voice was tinged with emotion. “You shouldn’t be like this, Ghosn!” Ghosn supported his heavy forehead with his hand: “What I’m saying is, it’s a misunderstanding. Renault’s emissions are not…”

Martin became furious the moment he heard Ghosn still denying it!
You're still denying it! At this point, you still don't want to die?!
Do you even have a choice?!

What makes you think it's a misunderstanding?! If Volkswagen has to fabricate data, how could Renault not?!
Martin's anger made his voice crack: "Ghosn! I respect you! You shouldn't let down the millions of people like me who respect you!! I'm so disappointed! Whatever you did, whatever Renault did, you should at least have the courage to face it! Instead of running away like this!! Ghosn, Ghosn!"

Ghosn never imagined that the renowned Martin would have such profound respect for him.

This is something I haven't felt in the past few hours.

The phone calls from Paris were questioning, Renault was anxious, the media was pressing for answers, and the Japanese at Mitsubishi and Nissan were looking at me like I was a sinner… Only Martin, only the CEO of this competitor, had words that brought a sliver of warmth to my heart.

Ghosn sighed and made no further mention of the "misunderstanding" explanation.

Things had been in chaos since the attack on the mountain peak began, but the rare quiet at the airport allowed him to quickly sort out his thoughts. Renault's emissions problems were probably hard to deny.

The Renault models that were faked were already sold, and many other third-party testing agencies could easily have conducted the tests.

What could Renault do then?
Now is not the time to think about Renault's future.

More importantly, how to secure one's future is a question that someone must take responsibility for. One piece of good news is that Renault has been using the engine control unit (ECU) to falsify data since the 90s, while I was working at Michelin at that time.

When he joined Renault and gradually shouldered responsibilities, he could only continue the established practice and tacitly allow everything to happen.

Ghosn felt he did bear some responsibility, but not the primary one. His trip back to Paris was to persuade the company's former top executives to step forward and take responsibility, so that he could continue to lead Renault.

He was somewhat confident about this. Ghosn was not just Ghosn of Renault, but Ghosn of Renault, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. Especially since Mitsubishi had just been taken over, it was even less appropriate to replace him at this time.

As long as someone takes responsibility, that's enough.

As long as I return to Paris, as long as I explain the pros and cons to my superiors, and as long as I use them to put pressure on the former high-ranking officials, I can land safely.

Ghosn saw a glimmer of hope and said into the phone, "Martin, I'll handle it, I will."

Upon hearing this, Martin immediately said, "Ghosn, you are the Ghosn who is respected by everyone, you are the pride of Nissan, you are the savior of Mitsubishi, you are the pride of Lebanon, you are..."

Before he could finish his free praise, the phone was hung up on him.

Martin listened to the busy tone on his phone and realized how cheesy his words had been. He laughed and said to Horst, "It seems Ghosn knows he can't handle such praise, so he just hung up. He's no longer denying it and has promised to resolve the matter. I think Renault will definitely accept the punishment soon."

Horst was truly relieved; as long as Renault accepted the penalty, everything would be over quickly.

Martin reconsidered the matter: "Now that the matter has been exposed, Ghosn and Renault can't escape it. He's a smart man, and he's already at Tokyo airport about to fly back to France. He's definitely here to deal with this. As long as Renault can quickly come up with a solution in the next two days, the rest will just be aftermath."

Horst nodded, hoping the emissions fraud issue would be quickly resolved.

However, Ghosn, on whom Martin, Horst, and many others placed their hopes, did not voluntarily hang up the call with Martin.

Ghosn's phone was taken away by Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office prosecutors who arrived at the airport.

He was completely taken aback, and just stared blankly at the group of people in front of him who introduced themselves as "Special Investigation Department" as they presented their work identification.

“Mr. Ghosn, we have received a report that you are suspected of underreporting personal compensation of approximately 72 billion yen in Nissan’s securities reports from 2010 to 2014, transferring some of the income overseas through offshore companies and consulting contracts, deliberately circumventing the disclosure requirements of the Ministry of Finance, and violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. You now need to cooperate with us in the investigation.”

Ghosn stared blankly at the person grabbing his arm, then suddenly realized, "I'm going to Paris! I'm the CEO of Renault! I'm the CEO of Nissan! What are you doing?! I have important business to attend to in France!"

He struggled violently.

Then, it encountered even stronger control.

"I need to make a call, to inform the French government that you are..."

Ghosn and his subordinates were taken away from the airport VIP lounge by the Special Investigations Department.

The flight to Paris still took off, but with five fewer passengers.

……

"President Yu, Guoshanfeng has made another move."

Xu Xin, representing Capital Today, inquired about the current situation of Silicon Carbon Group and mentioned a major event that occurred yesterday.

"I've heard that Renault has some problems," Yu Xing said calmly. "I don't know if it's true or not."

Xu Xin sighed, "Guoshanfeng, huh? 80% likely. But the funniest thing is, you know what? The company that Guoshanfeng shorted actually gave an interview, saying that Renault must have problems!"

Yu Xingzhen, unaware of this, asked in surprise, "Huh? What's going on?"

"It's like Wall Street called to interview them, asking for their opinion on Renault's innocence. The result was that they all thought it was absolutely impossible for them to be innocent," Xu Xin laughed. "It's hilarious, look what Guo Shanfeng has made of them."

Yu Xing decided he should search for related news later.

However, before they could continue their conversation for more than a few minutes, they both received a new message at the same time.

When the flight from Tokyo to Paris landed, Ghosn, who was supposed to be there, was nowhere to be seen.

Along with this news, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department announced that it was taking responsibility for the matter and that the head of the Renault-Mitsubishi-Nissan Alliance was under investigation for suspected violations of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Xu Xin was stunned. After processing the news, she sent Yu Xing a WeChat message: "These guys, they didn't even catch Shan Feng this fast..."

(End of this chapter)