Ghosn sues Nissan and Mitsubishi

Former auto titan Carlos Ghosn, currently under house arrest in Tokyo, is suing Nissan and Mitsubishi in a Dutch court for “improper termination” of his contract, French newspaper Le Figaro reported Wednesday. Ghosn is accusing the Japanese manufacturers of breaching his contract as an employee of NMBV, their joint subsidiary based in the Netherlands, and seeking up to 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages, it said.

The big-spending former chief of both Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan is awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct. He was kept behind bars for over 100 days before being granted bail and sacked from all his management roles. Ghosn is accused of under-reporting millions of dollars in income at Nissan and of of using company funds for personal expenses -- charges he denies.

His lawyers argue that while Ghosn resigned from Renault-Nissan BV (RNBV), he had not done so from NMBV and “the breach of contract” was unwarranted, Le Figaro said. Nissan and Mitsubishi argue that Ghosn’s contract was invalid as it would not have been submitted to NMBV’s board, according to the daily.