Carlos Ghosn has launched a court case against Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors in the Netherlands, Dutch newspaper NRC reported on Saturday.
Ghosn is seeking 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages from the carmakers, as grave mistakes were made when he was sacked, NRC reported, citing his lawyer.
“In the Netherlands, if you want to fire an executive you have to first tell him what he’s being accused of, and you have to provide him with the evidence for the accusations. Neither of those things has happened,” lawyer Laurens de Graaf told NRC.
The district court in Amsterdam is reviewing the case but has not set a trial date yet, NRC said.
The holding company for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is incorporated in the Netherlands.
Ghosn fell from grace late last year when he was arrested in Japan and fired by Nissan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies. He was also fired as the CEO and chairman of Renault.
Ghosn was freed in April from jail in Japan on a $4.5 million bail.
Among other charges of fraud and misconduct, Nissan and Mitsubishi have said Ghosn improperly received $9 million in compensation from their joint venture.
Suspect expenses Ghosn made when he chaired Renault and Nissan amounted to about 11 million euros, Renault’s board said in June.
Ghosn holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, but opted for the fiscally more friendly Netherlands as his tax domicile in 2012.
