Carlos Ghosn ordered to repay £4.3m to Nissan and Mitsubishi

Carlos Ghosn, former Nissan and Renault executive, was ordered to repay £4.3m to Nissan and Mitsubishi by a Dutch court after a failed legal claim.

Ghosn was arrested at the end of 2018 after prosecutors in Tokyo charged him with fraud for concealing his income. He fled to Lebanon in December 2019 hidden in carry-on luggage on a private jet that flew out of Kansai Airport.

Ghosn had asked an Amsterdam court to overturn his dismissal on the grounds that he was wrongfully ousted by a joint- venture, Nissan-Mitsubishi BV (NMBV), and was owed €15m in compensation because of lost wages and severance payments.

The court found that Ghosn had wrongfully determined his own salary and sign-on bonus at NMBV, and that the board member who had signed his employment contract at the joint-venture on behalf of the car companies did not have the power to do so.

Ghosn will appeal the ruling so that he can give evidence, reported the Guardian.

“As today’s verdict has been rendered without hearing Mr Ghosn and other key witnesses, the defence team will now take the case to the court of appeal where Mr Ghosn’s right to witness evidence will be granted,” Ghosn’s spokesman said in a written statement. “We are satisfied with the court verdict which ruled out any bad faith from Mr Ghosn.”

A Nissan spokesman said: “We are pleased that the court has dismissed Carlos Ghosn’s unfounded claims against NMBV and ordered Mr Ghosn to repay the significant sums he appropriated unlawfully. As judicial proceedings concerning Mr Ghosn’s misconduct are under way in other jurisdictions, Nissan will not be making any further comment at this time.”