Carlos Ghosn, former CEO, Nissan, has decided to fight a legal case with the Japanese automaker, his former employer. He has reportedly told the media that given the trauma and suffering he underwent due to the allegations of fraud and money laundering levelled against him, he should have asked for more than a billion dollars in damages. He maintains that he was illegally removed from Nissan so that a new management could take his place.
Ghosn was forced to flee from Japan — after successfully heading Nissan’s operations for 20 years — when he was accused of breach of trust and misuse of company’s properties for personal profit. He was also accused of violating securities laws by withholding his compensation details. In 2018, he was arrested and even kept in solitary confinement for months during which he wasn’t allowed to meet even his wife. In 2019, he fled the country following a $14 million bail, and sought refuge in Lebanon.
Having Lebanese citizenship, Ghosn placed his trust in Lebanon’s judiciary and spent three years preparing for the lawsuit.
He is now suing Nissan for $1 billion, 50 per cent of the amount for damages and 50 per cent in salary, retirement funds and stock options. Ghosn has reportedly told the media that had he been in the US with American citizenship, he would have demanded much more for the suffering he has had to endure.
He is demanding compensation from a Lebanese associate of Nissan, in addition to those who entered his houses to seize his documents, computers and so on. He has also sought damages from all those who were part of the investigations that led to his arrest. He claims that he was illegally thrown out of Nissan. Therefore, he is determined to challenge the company — for tarnishing his reputation and questioning his character— irrespective of whether he wins the case or not.
