Renault said to flag Oman payments to French authorities
PARIS: Renault SA has alerted French prosecutors to payments made by former head Carlos Ghosn to a distributor in Oman following reports that millions of euros may have been used to repay personal debt, according to sources.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported earlier that Renault paid the Oman-based distributor through a special cost centre overseen by Ghosn rather than through marketing and sales divisions.
The information was provided to Renault by partner Nissan Motor Co, said the newspaper.
“We strongly deny allegations of wrongdoing in Oman,” said a spokesman for the Ghosn family by phone.
A spokesman for the French prosecutor’s office said Renault had on March 29 added many documents in support of an ongoing investigation, but she declined to provide details.
Ghosn’s Paris-based lawyer, Jean-Yves Le Borgne, said he wasn’t aware of Renault reporting any payments to the French prosecutor.
An Oman-based Nissan supplier had received bonuses that were related to its performance, he said.
The move by Renault follows reports over the past months about Nissan’s relationship with Suhail Bahwan Automobiles LLC, which has been the French carmaker’s exclusive distributor in Oman since 2004.
In January, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Ghosn paid US$32 million (RM139.7 million) and US$16 million to Nissan suppliers run by two acquaintances in Oman and Lebanon.
The payments were made from the cash reserve at the centre of breach of trust allegations against Ghosn, said the newspaper, adding that Tokyo prosecutors suspected Ghosn might have used Nissan’s “CEO reserve” fund for personal purposes.