Shareholders of Nissan voted to remove Carlos Ghosn from its board after his fourth arrest last week, formally ousting the man who rescued and led the Japanese carmaker for the past two decades.

Monday’s extraordinary meeting of shareholders set the stage for Nissan to revamp its board with stronger governance safeguards to address a crisis that has shaved 7 per cent off its share price, eroded its brand and crippled its ties with its French partner Renault since the former chairman’s November arrest.

Jean-Dominique Senard also won shareholder approval to join the Japanese group’s board as Renault’s new chairman seeks to restore trust within the three-way alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.

During the three-hour meeting, shareholders vented their anger against Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s chief executive, and other executives for overlooking Mr Ghosn’s misconduct for nearly a decade, with one male investor calling for the company’s entire board to step down.

“We are not saying that we have no responsibility. We take the issue very seriously,” Mr Saikawa said as he offered his apology. But he reiterated that he plans to focus on stabilising relations with Renault and rebuild the company’s governance structure.

Mr Ghosn was earlier ousted as chairman following his first arrest on November 19 on charges that he understated his pay in Nissan’s financial documents, but a shareholder vote was required to strip his last title as director.

In addition to his three previous charges of financial misconduct, the latest arrest relates to allegations that Mr Ghosn devised a mechanism whereby a proportion of payments made by a Nissan subsidiary to an Omani dealer found their way into expenditure that directly benefited the former chairman and his family.

Mr Ghosn said he is innocent of “the groundless charges and accusations” against him, blaming an attempt by individuals by Nissan to silence him following his attempts to merge the Japanese carmaker with Renault.

At the EGM, Nissan said its internal investigation has found evidence that its former boss used corporate houses, corporate jets and company money in the way that benefited himself and his family. The company has also said its internal probe was unrelated to merger talks with Renault.

Greg Kelly, who was charged with conspiring with Mr Ghosn to falsify his pay, was also removed from Nissan’s board. Mr Kelly has denied the charges.