Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his wife Carole leave the office of his lawyer in Tokyo on April 3, 2019.

Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn was re-arrested on Thursday.

Japanese prosecutors are building a new case against him over payments made to a dealer in Oman, according to reports.

Ghosn called the arrest "outrageous and arbitrary" and said it was "part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me."

The ousted Nissan chief was first arrested in November last year, and has been accused of misusing company funds and understating his income at the Japanese automaker, where he served as chairman.

Ghosn, who denies those allegations, was released on bail after spending more than 100 days in a Japanese prison. He has been stripped of his roles at the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which he had formerly chaired. If found guilty, Ghosn could face up to 15 years in prison.

In a statement on Thursday, Ghosn reiterated: "I am innocent of the groundless charges and accusations against me."

"My biggest hope and wish today is for a fair trial," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that executives at Nissan had taken steps to imprison Ghosn in the hopes his arrest would stall or kill any attempts to merge the Japanese automaker with its French counterpart Renault. There have also been various theories in the automotive world that Nissan executives might have had a role in his arrest.