Carlos Ghosn Will Stand Trial In A French Corruption Case
Ghosn will stand trial alongside French Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Authorities charged her with "passive corruption and influence peddling by a person holding elective public office." Allegedly, Dati accepted €900,000 in payments from a Renault subsidiary between 2010 and 2012, which would equate to about $1.4 million in today's dollars. Dati was a member of the European Parliament while allegedly accepting those payments. She allegedly performed no actual consulting work for Renault.
It's... unlikely Ghosn will attend the trial. Ghosn holds French, Lebanese, and Brazilian citizenship. But since escaping from Japan, he has resided in Lebanon, where the country has a policy against extraditing its citizens to other countries. And he's certainly wanted in other countries.
This accusation is part of a series of allegations that led the French government to issue a warrant for Ghosn's arrest in 2022. Other accusations include using an Omani distributorship to funnel more than $17 million out of Renault and using Renault money for lavish personal expenses. The French government owns about 15% of Renault.
The Carlos Ghosn Arrest Timeline
Ghosn's initial charges date back to 2018. Nissan executives urged Ghosn to fly to Japan for a high-level meeting. Authorities arrested Ghosn upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Japanese authorities charged Ghosn and Nissan board member Greg Kelly with underreporting Ghosn's income by approximately half during the period from 2011 to 2015, reporting $44.3 million instead of $88.4 million. Authorities have also accused him of using Nissan funds to cover personal expenses and other illicit payments.
Ghosn has maintained his innocence of those charges. He accused Nissan executives of plotting with Japanese prosecutors to orchestrate a corporate coup. One of Ghosn's claims to fame as an executive was his cost-cutting efforts at Nissan in the early 2000s, which resulted in the brand closing multiple Japanese plants and laying off approximately 21,000 workers. Ghosn's ouster headed off what may have been the Renault-Nissan Alliance's strengthening into a corporate merger.
Authorities granted Ghosn release to house arrest on $8.9 million bail in April 2019, where he was monitored 24/7 by a camera, banned from foreign travel, and limited in his access to technology. Ghosn fled Japan in late December 2020, escaping with two Americans in a musical instrument case on a private plane to Istanbul. He then took a separate private plane to Lebanon, arriving on December 31, 2019.
Carlos Ghosn's Legacy In The Auto Industry
Ghosn oversaw some interesting times at Nissan. His most lasting legacy is probably spearheading the development of the Leaf, which became the first affordable, mass-market electric vehicle. On the performance front, Ghosn oversaw the revival of the Nissan GT-R and saved the Nissan Z. And he is reportedly the reason the deeply weird Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet convertible made it to production.
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