An investment company accused Carlos Ghosn of “violation of property”. ANWAR AMRO / AFP
The former Nissan boss and his wife have one month to vacate their luxurious property worth an estimated $19 million, according to a legal source.
A judge has decided to evict former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from his residence in the Lebanese capital, a judicial source said Saturday, about four years after an investment firm accused him of “trespass“. Carlos Ghosn, who found refuge in Lebanon at the end of 2019 after his incredible flight from Japan where he was the subject of legal proceedings, appealed the expulsion decision on Friday, according to the same source who requested anonymity.
Carlos Ghosn and his wife will have to “evacuate the property (…) within one month», According to a copy of the decision consulted by AFP and dated October 16. The luxurious residence located in an upscale area of the Achrafieh district has an estimated value of $19 million and is registered in the name of the Lebanese company Phoinos, said the judicial official. Phoinos initiated legal proceedings in 2019 and accused Carlos Ghosn of “violation of private property and residence in the property without legal basis“, he added.
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“A conspiracy” for Carlos Ghosn
According to the court document, Carlos Ghosn claimed that the company was affiliated with Nissan, that “the property had been purchased (…) for his residence, and that there was an agreement signed with Nissan granting him the right to live there“. He had occupied the property “in accordance with a contractual relationship between Ghosn and Nissan» but the end of this relationship and the plaintiff’s wish to recover the property invalidates “the legal basis» of his occupation, according to this document.
Carlos Ghosn, who has Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities, was arrested at the end of 2018 in Japan where he was to be tried for alleged financial embezzlement when he was head of the Renault-Nissan group. Carlos Ghosn proclaims his innocence and denounces a “conspiracy» hatched, according to him, by Nissan with the support of the Japanese government, to bring it down and thus avoid a closer union with Renault.