Nissan sues Ghosn for $91m
• Japanese carmaker goes after fugitive former chair’s fortune, which is estimated to have shrunk to $70m
Nissan Motor is stepping up its pursuit of claims against former chair Carlos Ghosn, suing for about $91m in damages from the former leader of the Japanese car manufacturer and architect of its alliance with Renault.
Nissan Motor is stepping up its pursuit of claims against former chair Carlos Ghosn, suing for $91m in damages from the former leader of the Japanese carmaker and the architect of its Renault alliance.
The lawsuit filed in the Yokohama district court seeks to “recover a significant part of the monetary damages inflicted on the company by its former chair as a result of years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity”, Nissan said in a statement on Wednesday.
The amount of the claim could rise depending on fines and penalties that Nissan will be obliged to pay, according to the carmaker.
Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 on charges of financial wrongdoing and faced trial in Japan until escaping dramatically to Lebanon at the end of December.
Nissan and Japanese prosecutors claim that the former executive underreported his income and used company money for personal gain, charges Ghosn has denied.
FORTUNE
The former car executive’s fortune is calculated to be about $70m, down from about $120m at the time of his first court appearance a year ago, according to estimates by the Bloomberg billionaires index.
A spokesperson for Ghosn said his lawyers had not yet been able to review the complaint, which appeared to be part of Nissan’s “manoeuvring”.
“The legal actions form part of Nissan’s policy of holding Ghosn accountable for the harm and financial losses incurred by the company as a result of his misconduct,” the Yokohamabased company said.
Nissan is not the only party intent on going after Ghosn.
Masako Mori, Japan’s justice minister, said recently she would “never give up” on bringing Ghosn to trial, even though the country had so far made little progress in its efforts to have him returned from Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.
Ghosn, for his part, is pursuing claims against Nissan, saying he was dismissed wrongly from the carmaker’s Dutch unit and by a joint venture called NissanMitsubishi. He is claiming $16.4 min lost income.
The 65-year-old, who was facing two trials on charges of financial misconduct in Japan, jumped bail and fled the country late in 2019 with the help of a security unit led by a former Green Beret.
PLOTTING
Ghosn has since accused executives at Nissan of plotting with prosecutors in Japan to have him arrested unjustly.
The ¥10bn total that Nissan is seeking is based on payments made to or by Ghosn, including “the use of overseas residential property without paying rent, private use of corporate jets, payments to his sister, payments to his personal lawyer in Lebanon” and costs related to the investigation into his actions, and legal and regulatory fees.
Nissan filed a civil lawsuit against Ghosn in the British Virgin Islands in August 2019, seeking damages and the title to a luxury yacht. Nissan also said that it might pursue another legal action over “groundless and defamatory remarks it said Ghosn had made in comments to the media following his escape to Lebanon in violation of his bail conditions in Japan”.