Nissan's former boss Carlos Ghosn has been ordered by a court to hand over his superyacht and $32 million in damages to the automaker. The yacht, which has become a symbol of the financial excesses at the heart of accusations of financial mismanagement against the executive, was purchased with funds diverted from Nissan, according to a ruling by the High Court of the British Virgin Islands.
The yacht of discord
The luxury yacht, a Custom Line Navetta 37 built by Italian firm Ferretti, was christened Shachou, which means “The Boss” in Japanese. It features seven bathrooms, five master cabins and four crew cabins. It symbolizes the lavish behavior at the heart of accusations of questionable financial conduct brought against Carlos Ghosn.
Arrested in 2018 at the height of his career as head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Ghosn has yet to stand trial on charges laid in Japan.
A heavy sentence
In his August 9 ruling, Judge Gerhard Wallbank ordered Ghosn, wife Carole and a company they had founded to buy the yacht to pay Nissan $32 million in damages. The court found that millions of dollars from Nissan's CEO Reserve Fund had passed through a series of intermediaries, ending up in companies controlled by Ghosn or those close to him. These companies included Shogun Investments, owned by Ghosn and his son, and Beauty Yachts Pty Ltd, a company incorporated in the Virgin Islands and owned by Carole Ghosn.
The judge ruled that the payments made by Nissan and its Middle Eastern subsidiary were not for legitimate purposes. “The sums paid were made for the benefit of Mr. Ghosn or those close to him,” said the judge his 56-page judgment.
A long legal battle
Carlos Ghosn, now 70, denies any wrongdoing. He said he will appeal the judgment. Neither he nor his wife attended the trial, and no lawyer represented them. Nissan, for its part, welcomed the ruling as confirmation of the misappropriation of funds orchestrated by its former CEO.
Worldwide proceedings
This case in the British Virgin Islands is just one in a series of legal battles facing the disgraced auto executive. In addition to this civil case, Ghosn is also being prosecuted in Japan, where he is accused of embezzling millions of dollars through a complex network of entities. He is also the subject of an arrest warrant in France for similar charges. Despite these multiple prosecutions, Carlos Ghosn currently lives in Lebanon, a country where extradition does not apply, and from where he has taken legal action against Nissan, claiming $1 billion in damages.
Nissan, for its part, continues to seek to recover funds through ongoing lawsuits in Japan and abroad. The automaker is also suing for 15.5 billion yen (around $102.5 million USD) before a court in Yokohama.
