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Carlos Ghosn Is Seeking $1 Billion In Damages From Nissan
It has been quiet for a while around the fallen Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, but the former CEO who fled to Lebanon is now making himself heard again. Ghosn is demanding hefty compensation from his former employer because he says he has been disadvantaged by how Nissan treated him.
Carlos Ghosn is suing Nissan and associates for deposing him in 2018 and allegedly arranging his arrest for alleged financial misconduct. Ghosn is demanding more than $1 billion for “deep damage” to his finances and reputation. Ghosn is claiming $588 million in damages and costs. He is also seeking $500 million in punitive action against Nissan and unnamed individuals involved in the case against him. The former CEO who set up the Renault-Nissan alliance filed his claims with the public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation in Lebanon. Ghosn has been living in Lebanon since his spectacular escape from Japan at the end of 2019 to escape his trial.
Lebanon’s public prosecutor has scheduled a hearing for September. Authorities in Lebanon may ask their Japanese counterparts to cooperate in investigating Ghosn’s claims. However, it is unclear whether Japan’s justice system, which Ghosn says has been “manipulated” and “violates the most fundamental principles of humanity,” is willing to cooperate with authorities in Lebanon, which itself does not extradite its citizens.
Ghosn, who holds French, Brazilian, and Lebanese nationality, was arrested by Japan in 2018 on suspicion of fraud at Nissan. For example, he would have used company money for private purposes, which he still denies. Because he believed he would not receive a fair trial in Japan, he escaped to Lebanon via Turkey at the end of 2019. When he fled, he would have hidden in a box for sound equipment.
