Nissan launches $90m lawsuit against Ghosn

Nissan is suing its former chairman Carlos Ghosn for $90 million. Ghosn was arrested in Japan in 2018, but fled to Lebanon amid a trial for alleged financial misconduct.
He is accused for underreporting his income for years. He has denied the allegations, and has since launched court cases against the companies, arguing he was fired unlawfully.
Nissan said it was seeking to recover costs from Ghosn’s “corrupt” actions, including the personal use of private jets, using residential property without paying rent and making personal payments using company accounts.
The carmaker suffered a lot since the scandal, as it has been accused of falsifying Ghosn’s pay in financial statements.
The company fired him as chairman, and has since had difficulties getting back on track. It said it hoped to “recover a significant part of the monetary damages inflicted on the company by its former chairman as a result of years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity”.
His dramatic escape involved him taking a bullet train before a private jet flew him to Turkey and then Lebanon, meaning he has forfeited about $14m in bail paid to Japanese authorities. However, he insists that he was framed by former Nissan colleagues and Japanese government officials.
“Nissan’s manoeuvres continue. This complaint is made public on the eve of the Japanese group’s financial results. We note that after months of announcing damages of ¥35bn, Nissan is now claiming ¥10bn at the moment. Mr. Ghosn’s lawyers will react on the merits of the case once the content of the claim has been brought to their attention”, Ghosn’s spokesman said.