Carlos Ghosn has filed a lawsuit against Nissan and Mitsubishi seeking 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages.
Reuters reports that the lawsuit was filed at a district court in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and is still under review meaning a trial date has yet to be locked in.
“In the Netherlands, if you want to fire an executive you have to first tell him what he’s being accused of, and you have to provide him with the evidence for the accusations. Neither of those things has happened,” Ghosn’s lawyer Laurens de Graaf told Dutch newspaper NRC.
Also Read: Carlos Ghosn’s Lawyer Says Bail Conditions Violate Human Rights
Carlos Ghosn has been in and out of jail in Japan since last November, when he was sacked by Nissan on charges of financial misconduct. The former exec has repeatedly insisted that he is innocent and claims that he is a conspiracy victim of “backstabbing” colleagues.
On their part, Nissan and Mitsubishi claim that Ghosn improperly received $9 million in compensation. He has been out of Japanese jail since April when he posted $4.5 million bail.
While Ghosn holds French, Lebanese, and Brazilian citizenship, he chose the Netherlands as his tax domicile in 2012. In addition, the holding company for the Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is incorporated in the same country.
Ghosn was briefly spotted by television crews in late May as he appeared in a Japanese court for pre-trial hearings. No date has been set for his trial yet, but it may not begin until 2020. Deputy chief prosecutor Shin Kukimoto says Ghosn is facing 15 years in prison and a 150 million yen ($1.4 million) fine if he is convicted on all 15 counts.
