© Reuters. Fugitive previous automobile executive Carlos Ghosn, gestures as he talks throughout an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
By Tom Perry, Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Carlos Ghosn stated on Tuesday he will battle “to the end” in a $1 billion claim the previous Nissan (OTC:) chairman has actually brought versus the Japanese carmaker, marking his very first such difficulty.
Ghosn’s claim, which he submitted in Lebanon and a copy of which was seen by Reuters, consists of claims of character assassination, slander, libel and the fabrication of product proof by Nissan in addition to 12 people and 2 other companies.
A Nissan representative stated it will not be commenting.
“We have a long battle in front of us. We are going to fight it to the end,” Ghosn informed Reuters in Lebanon, where he has actually lived because leaving Japan concealed in a box aboard a personal jet.
Ghosn’s claim looks for $588 million in lost reimbursement, and another $500 million in ethical damage.
“What I am asking for is only a little compensation compared to what they’ve done to me,” the 69-year-old, using a blue open-necked t-shirt, stated throughout an interview in Beirut.
Once a worldwide automobile market titan, Ghosn was detained in Japan in late 2018 and charged with under-reporting profits, breach of trust and misappropriation of business funds.
He rejected the charges and stated his detention became part of a plot versus him by Nissan.
Ghosn ran away Japan in December 2019 as he waited for trial and after showing up in his youth house of Lebanon stated he was getting away a “rigged” justice system and would clear his name.
Tokyo district attorneys have actually formerly stated Ghosn’s claims of a conspiracy were incorrect.
‘NEED TO PAY’
Asked whether he would broaden his legal action to consist of Renault (EPA:), part of the alliance with Nissan which he masterminded, Ghosn stated his focus was presently on Nissan.
“I’m not precluding anything for the future. Today we are concentrating on the Nissan plot,” he stated.
If condemned, Nissan “will have to pay”, Ghosn stated.
“It’s a large company and they have assets everywhere and you can go after their assets anywhere, so this is not a joke,” he stated. “I hope they are going to provision this amount of money and I hope they are going to talk to their shareholders about what is happening and why this is happening,” he stated.
Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenships, stated he has actually not left Lebanon because 2019 since of an Interpol Red Notice released by Japan.
“I’m stuck here. I cannot make a complaint of this size in another country,” he stated, including that putting his case together had actually taken his legal group time as they reconstituted the truths.
A judicial source in Lebanon stated the district attorney has actually arranged a court session on Sept. 18 to start procedures.
Ghosn stated files had actually been drawn from his house in Lebanon under false pretenses on the day of his arrest in Japan and shown Japanese authorities.
His claim declares that “the sanctity of a residence” had actually been broken and states criminal activities were devoted in Lebanon, Japan, France, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands.
“I have the intention get my rights back, to repair my reputation,” he stated. “I am going to dedicate all the time necessary for the truth to prevail.”
