Court Orders Carlos Ghosn To Repay Nissan US$32 Million And Return Luxury Yacht

A court in the British Virgin Islands has ruled in favour of Nissan in a recent legal proceeding it filed against former CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Controversy continues to hit disgraced and exiled former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. Recently, a court in the British Virgin Islands ruled against the former exec after finding him guilty of siphoning millions from Nissan, to which he also reportedly used to acquire a luxury yacht.

With said ruling, the court ordered Ghosn, who remains in exile in war-torn Lebanon, to pay Nissan US$32 million (approx. RM131.41 million) in damages for the act. At the same time, he was also ordered to return the 121-foot Custom Line Navetta 37 yacht by Ferretti to the automaker.

Aptly, this was no run of the mill boat to say the least. Built to order, it features five main cabins plus seven bathrooms and four crew cabins aboard.

The judge presiding over this case has ordered Ghosn to repay Nissan in the sum of US$32 million - an amount he allegedly misappropriated.

The same court proceedings revealed that the US$32 million sum Ghosn was ordered to repay Nissan initially flowed from Nissan’s CEO Reserve Fund through several intermediaries, including Nissan Middle East, into various entities controlled by either Ghosn or his family members.

Other sources add some of these siphoned funds flowed into a California-registered company called Shogun Investments owned by Ghosn and his son. Funds also then flowed to Beauty Yachts Pty Ltd in the British Virgin Islands to purchase the yacht mentioned, which is registered under Ghosn’s wife.

“The sums paid away from Nissan/NME [Nissan Middle East] were for purposes other than the proper purposes of Nissan or NME; and the payments to Mr. Ghosn, Beauty Yachts and Shogun were made in order to benefit Mr. Ghosn or his nominees,” ruled High Court Judge Gerhard Wallbank.

Whilst Nissan praised the judge's ruling, Ghosn continues to claim his innocence.

Naturally, Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing, adding that he is “obviously appealing” against Judge Gerhard’s ruling. Automaker Nissan instead praised the ruling, adding that it “validates its claims” that Ghosn had misappropriated company funds whilst in power.

“Nissan will continue such efforts to make Carlos Ghosn accountable for his misconduct,” added a Nissan spokesperson, reiterating the automaker’s continued efforts to recover damages and assets misappropriated by Ghosn through legal proceedings both in Japan and overseas.

Besides this latest sum and luxury yacht, automaker Nissan also filed a civil claim worth US$10.2 million (approx. RM41.89 million) against Ghosn in a Japanese court.

This ruling in the Britis h Virgin Islands court is just one in a string of legal battles Ghosn is embroiled in. Adding to this are allegations by French authorities that he diverted millions of Euros from Renault via an auto distributor in Oman for his personal gain.