AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former auto executive, used a joint venture between Nissan and Mitsubishi to inflate his pay, effectively clawing back a cut to his declared wages, and to cover a personal tax debt, lawyers for the companies said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn gestures during a news conference at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut, Lebanon January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Ghosn, the former chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in 2018 on financial misconduct charges but fled to Lebanon last December.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including concerning the way he was compensated.
Nissan (7201.T) and Mitsubishi (7211.T) have been pouring over payments made to Ghosn from their Dutch-based joint venture, and had already challenged a salary and bonus worth 7.3 million which they claim he granted himself without the knowledge of their respective boards.
In new arguments submitted to a Dutch court on Monday, lawyers for the firms alleged Ghosn awarded himself that compensation to offset a cut in his declared earnings at Nissan.
Ghosn – who was under public scrutiny in Japan and France over his wages d