The embattled former boss of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan under controversial circumstances, is seeking £785m ($1bn) in damages from his erstwhile employer, as per recent filings in a Lebanese court.
Born in Brazil to Lebanese immigrant parents, Ghosn masterminded the tripartite car manufacturing alliance comprising Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. He found himself under arrest in Japan in November 2018, facing charges of financial misconduct linked to the intentional misreporting of his earnings.
Following a daring escape to Beirut whilst encased in an audio equipment box, Ghosn is now engaged in legal proceedings against Nissan and associated parties for more than £785m ($1bn). These claims have been lodged with the Lebanese public prosecutor within the court of cassation.
After a 13-month period under stringent bail conditions and surveillance in Japan, Ghosn took up residence in Lebanon towards the close of 2019. The lack of an extradition treaty between Lebanon and Japan allows him to avoid returning to Japan.
Court documents, submitted last month and subsequently translated from Arabic to English, suggest that Ghosn seeks compensation for significant harm caused to his financial status and reputation.
Both Ghosn and his associate, Greg Kelly, who was found guilty in Tokyo last year for abetting Ghosn in concealing £60m ($80.4m) of his income from financial regulators, continue to deny any impropriety.
In the lawsuit, Ghosn posits that, “The grave and delicate allegations levelled against me will cast a long shadow in people’s minds,” adding that the lingering effects of such accusations, even if solely based on conjecture, would persist throughout his life.
Last year, France issued an international arrest warrant in relation to the Renault-Nissan alliance. Ghosn’s claim includes £435m ($588m) in lost compensation and associated costs, as well as £370m ($500m) in punitive damages.
The lawsuit further implicates numerous individuals, including two Nissan board members and several other employees, whom Ghosn alleges orchestrated a scheme to unseat him.
While a September hearing has been slated by the Lebanese public prosecutor, Nissan representatives have purportedly neither received the lawsuit nor been notified of its existence, as reported by Bloomberg.
Ghosn’s 18-page legal document further elucidates his initial plan to unite Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors with Fiat Chrysler in an expanded alliance. Ghosn maintains that this proposed consolidation triggered a plot within Nissan to dethrone him.
He insists that Nissan’s attempts to appropriately compensate him to prevent a possible move to a competing global carmaker were subsequently “criminalised” as a strategy to force him out.
Ghosn was dispatched by Renault in 1999 to salvage the then-ailing Nissan, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. This move was the result of a pact between the French and Japanese automobile giants.
He eventually became chairman of both firms as well as the alliance. Mitsubishi Motors joined as a junior partner in 2016. The alliance has since been renegotiated this year to mend relations tarnished by the original deal.
Image Credit: Ecole Polytechnique on Wikimedia
