THE U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating whether Nissan Motor Co. accurately disclosed its executive pay in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The U.S. financial regulator is examining whether Nissan’s executive-pay disclosures were accurate and whether the Japanese carmaker maintained adequate controls to prevent improper payments, the sources said.

Nissan, in response to questions, yesterday confirmed it has received an inquiry and said it is cooperating fully. Through a spokeswoman, Kristina Adamski, the company said it could not provide further details.

The SEC investigation adds to scrutiny surrounding Japan’s second-largest automaker and its executives after Japanese authorities arrested Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s then-chairman, and another company director, Greg Kelly, in November. Both men were indicted in Japan over allegations Ghosn under-reported his income at Nissan by tens of millions of dollars. The carmaker also has been indicted, a step that allows prosecutors in Japan to lay formal charges.

Ghosn and Kelly were arrested after a monthslong internal investigation at Nissan uncovered what the company said were financial misdeeds by Ghosn. Both Ghosn and Kelly deny wrongdoing.

The SEC inquiry, launched out of its Washington headquarters, is focused on whether lapses by Nissan in reporting on its executives’ pay violated U.S. securities law, one of the sources said. The regulator’s work was slowed by more than a month of partial U.S. government shutdown, another said.

(SD-Agencies)