Skip to main content

Carlos Ghosn files $1 billion lawsuit in Lebanon against Nissan

The lawsuit reportedly accuses the Japanese carmaker and two other companies as well as a dozen individuals of crimes including defamation, slander, libel and fabricating material evidence.

Carlos Ghosn
Former Renault-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn addresses journalists on his reasons for dodging trial in Japan, where he is accused of financial misconduct, at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut on Jan. 8, 2020. — Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty

Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, has sued the company for more than $1 billion in a lawsuit filed in Lebanon last month over his detention in Japan and his 2018 ouster from the car company.

Nissan is a leading Japanese car brand and ninth biggest automaker in the world, posting a revenue of $75 billion in 2022. It is in an alliance with French carmarker Renault, which Ghosn previously was head of.

Bloomberg reported the news of the lawsuit on Tuesday, having seen a copy of it, which accuses the Japanese carmaker and two other companies as well as a dozen named individuals of crimes including defamation, slander, libel and fabricating material evidence. The lawsuit was filed at Court of Cassation in Lebanon on May 18. According to Judge Sabbouh Suleiman, the case is set to be heard in September, The Associated Press reported.

The news wire reported that the lawsuit claims $588 million in lost compensation as well as $500 million in punitive measures.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish