Report says Ghosn is suing Nissan, Mitsubishi

MOTIONCARS / INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO

THE Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing a July 17 report by French newspaper Le Figaro, said former Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is suing Nissan and Mitsubishi in a Dutch court for “improper termination” of his contract.

The report said Ghosn is accusing the Japanese manufacturers of breaching his contract as an employee of NMBV, their joint subsidiary based in the Netherlands, and seeking up to 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages.

Ghosn is currently under house arrest in Tokyo as he awaits trial on charges of financial misconduct. He was kept behind bars for over 100 days before being granted bail and sacked from all his management roles AFP said.

It added Ghosn is accused of under-reporting millions of dollars in income at Nissan and of using company funds for personal expenses — charges he denies.

His lawyers argue that while Ghosn resigned from Renault-Nissan BV (RNBV), he had not done so from NMBV and “the breach of contract” was unwarranted, AFP quoted Le Figaro as reporting.

Nissan and Mitsubishi argue that Ghosn’s contract was invalid as it would not have been submitted to NMBV’s board, AFP quoted the daily.

According to AFP, Le Figaro said the manufacturers were seeking to recover some 7.82 million euros paid to Ghosn by NMBV between April and November 2018.

Renault announced in early June it was considering taking action against its former boss after it identified 11 million euros of “questionable expenses” linked to Ghosn at RNBV, AFP said.