Carlos Ghosn’s life on the run keeps going from bad to worse, with the disgraced former Nissan and Renault CEO now being ordered to pay back a significant sum and hand back a superyacht to the Japanese carmaker.
As reported by Automotive News Europe, the British Virgin Islands High Court ordered Mr Ghosn to give up his Custom Line Navetta 37 yacht “Shachou” which was allegedly purchased by the former executive and his family through investment companies.
The court also ordered the former CEO, or at least the investment companies he owns and used to buy the yacht, to pay Nissan US$32 million (A$46.4 million) in damages.
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It’s alleged part of the US$32 million was obtained “from Nissan’s CEO Reserve Fund through a complex chain of intermediaries, including a regional subsidiary, Nissan Middle East, into various entities controlled by [Mr] Ghosn or his family members,” according to Automotive News Europe.
Some of the money reportedly went to Mr Ghosn and his son’s Californian company Shogun Investments, while other amounts went through Beauty Yachts Pty Ltd, which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and was eventually owned by Carole Ghosn, Carlos’ wife.
“This is a part of Nissan’s efforts to recover damages suffered due to Carlos Ghosn’s misconduct, including the misappropriation of Nissan’s assets and etc. through legal proceedings including lawsuits in Japan and overseas,” a spokesperson for the carmaker told Automotive News Europe.
“Nissan will continue such efforts to make Carlos Ghosn accountable for his misconduct.”
Carlos Ghosn (right) with then-British PM David Cameron (left)
Mr Ghosn told the publication he is “obviously appealing” the decision, which was made without his or his wife’s presence.
It’s the latest in a long line of stunning steps in the life of the 70-year-old.
Mr Ghosn was instrumental in forming the Renault-Nissan Alliance (later becoming the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance) before he was dramatically sacked by Nissan in 2019, six months after being arrested by Japanese authorities for under-reporting his income.
The executive was then jailed and placed under house arrest before escaping and fleeing the country in the large instrument box aboard a private jet, where he fled to his homeland of Lebanon which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan.
While father-and-son duo Michael and Peter Taylor were sentenced to jail time in Japan for assisting Mr Ghosn’s escape, the Brazilian-born and French/Lebanese executive has so far escaped any real punishment for his alleged crimes.
A French magistrate issued five international arrest warrants against Mr Ghosn in 2022, and last year ‘Le Cost Killer’ sued Nissan for US$1 billion (A$1.45 billion), claiming lost earnings, costs and punitive damages.
In November 2023, a Lebanese judge ruled to evict Mr Ghosn from his home in Beirut, after the property’s owners filed legal action against him in 2019 for trespassing.
MORE: Fugitive Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn now being evicted from his home
