Carlos Ghosn is suing Nissan for $1 billion in defamation lawsuits
Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has reportedly sued the automaker for more than $1 billion.
The filing marks Ghosn’s latest attempt to clear his name after he was ousted from the firm in 2018 and arrested in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct.
Ghosn has said the allegations were aimed at derailing his plans for a merger between Nissan and Renault.
He fled Japan in a box while waiting for tria, and now lives in Lebanon.
The lawsuit, filed in Lebanon, accuses Nissan, two other companies and 12 people of crimes including defamation and libel, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. A hearing is scheduled for September.
Nissan declined to comment.
The compensation that Ghosn is seeking represents more than 5% of the company’s market value of about $16 billion.
Mr Ghosn once ran the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, one of the biggest carmakers in the world.
Credited with reviving Nissan from near-bankruptcy in the early 2000s, Ghosn was named CEO of French automaker Renault in 2005, becoming the first person to run two global Fortune 500 companies simultaneously, according to his official biography .
Ghosn says the pursuit of a full merger between Nissan and Renault led to his downfall, alarming some who feared French influence over the Japanese automaker.
He was arrested in Japan in late 2018, on a number of charges, including allegations that he deliberately misreported his earnings and used company money to fund his own lifestyle.
Ghosn has denied wrongdoing and called the Japanese legal system “rigged”. He is currently unable to leave Lebanon as he is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued by Japan.
His escape from the country, in which he disguised himself to walk unnoticed through the streets of Tokyo and was hidden in a large musical equipment box, made global headlines.
In 2021, an American father and son were extradited from the United States and sentenced to prison in Japan for helping Ghosn escape.
In 2022, French authorities issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn, following an investigation into whether he had diverted company funds for personal use. At the time, he said he was confident he could prove his innocence should any charges emerge.
Lebanon, where Ghosn spent part of his childhood, does not extradite its citizens.
In the filing, Ghosn said the allegations would “linger in people’s minds for years” and that he would “suffer from them for the rest of his life, as they have persistent and long-lasting consequences, even if they are based on mere suspicion”, Bloomberg reported.
Nissan and Renault, meanwhile, have been working to finalize a deal announced earlier this year aimed at “rebalancing” their partnership, which would reduce Renault’s voting rights over Nissan.
