Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn sues former employer for $1bn

Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn sues former employer for $1bn 

A former Nissan Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Ghosn, who made sweet music with the giant automaker for years before escaping arrest, is suing his one-time employer for $1 billion.

Ghosn in the suit accuses Nissan along with two other companies and 12 named individuals of defamation, slander and libel as well as fabricating material evidence.

Ghosn, once a leading light of the global car industry, was arrested in Japan late 2018 and charged with financial misconduct.

Reuters reports that he denied the charge and said his detention was part of a plot by Nissan executives to block a merger with Renault.

Nissan has also reportedly filed a civil suit seeking damages.

But in a Lebanese court this summer it was Ghosn doing the accusing and asking for compensation.

According to Auto News,  the 69-year-old wants $588 million in lost compensation and costs, plus $500 million in punitive measures.

“The serious and sensitive accusations [leveled at Ghosn] will linger in people’s minds for years,” Ghosn’s legal team said in the lawsuit.

“[He] will suffer from them for the remainder of his life, as they have persistent and lingering impacts, even if based on mere suspicion,” it added.

Ghosn has not left his home country of Lebanon since escaping there from Japan in a caper that seemed to come straight from Hollywood’s playbook.

When a band booked to play at the exec’s Japanese home was packing up to leave, the diminutive Nissan chief hid inside one of the larger cases designed to hold musical instruments, but which had been specially modified to hold a human.

Ghosn was taken to a small local airport where he boarded a private plane bound for Istanbul, Turkey, before switching to another plane that took him to Lebanon.