Nissan has filed a civil lawsuit against former chairman Carlos Ghosn seeking an extraordinary 10 billion yen ($91.1 million / €83.7 million) in damages.
In a statement, the Japanese car manufacturer said the financial damages it is seeking are linked to Ghosn’s alleged breach of fiduciary duty as a company director and his claimed misappropriation of Nissan’s resources and assets.
Nissan claims the 10 billion yen figure has been calculated based on the “corrupt practices” of Ghosn and includes funds linked to fraudulent payments made to or by the former chairman. Those include 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 more.
In addition, Nissan cites the resources and costs related to its internal investigation of Ghosn and his conduct, as well as legal and regulatory costs incurred in Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, and other territories.
“The size of the damages claim is expected to increase in future as Nissan seeks to recover fines to be paid to the Japanese Financial Services Agency and likely penalties imposed on the company in criminal proceedings related to Ghosn’s misconduct,” the automaker added.
In a statement made to the BBC, lawyers for Carlos Ghosn said the lawsuit was filed strategically on the eve of the company releasing its financial results.
“Nissan’s maneuvers 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 35 billion yen, Nissan is now claiming 10 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,” the former executive’s legal team said.
