Carlos Ghosn has insisted that “the story is far from finished” as he launched his fightback with a $1 billion lawsuit against automobile giant Nissan, the company he used to chair.
He said the alleged crimes that Nissan and 12 people named in the lawsuit lodged in Lebanon had committed could not go unpunished.
The lawsuit, which seeks $588 million in lost salary and another $500 million in moral damage, accuses them, among other things, of defamation, violating the sanctity of his residence and fabricating charges that led to his detention in Japan.
“This is the beginning of my fightback. I'm not finished with this. This is a big step,” he told The National in Beirut, where he has been based since December 2019 after he was famously smuggled out of Japan in a musical instrument box as he awaited trial.
“This is the first step and this first step we have evidence, facts … but there is much more to it. The story is far from finished,” said Mr Ghosn, 69, who has Lebanese, Brazilian and French citizenship.
Asked what his next move could be, he said: “Let’s concentrate on this first step today. Let’s make sure we win the case.”
The industry giant, who also chaired Mitsubishi and Renault, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 amid allegations he under-reported his earnings and misappropriated company funds.
Mr Ghosn vehemently rejects the charges, claiming they were part of a conspiracy to remove him from his position. He accused the Japanese justice system of being rigged.
The UN Human Rights Council said his more than 100-day detention was arbitrary and unlawful.
Taking into account all circumstances, the appropriate remedy would be to "accord Mr Ghosn an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law”, it said.
Mr Ghosn said,"I repeat it again, it's important. The experts for the United Nations - you cannot suspect them of being biassed - they said this arrest was arbitrary, it violated all the human rights.
"There must be an investigation about what happened and compensation should be paid to him for what you've done to him. This is not me or my lawyer."
Nissan has not commented since the lawsuit was issued.
Asked about the timing of the lawsuit, which The National has viewed a copy of, Mr Ghosn said it had taken years and a lot of hard work in order to gather the facts.
“When the plot started and I was arrested in Japan, they cut me from everything," he said.
"They took my phone, my computer, my documents. They invaded all my homes in different countries, including Lebanon, illegally.
“Now that I have facts and evidence, I’m presenting those.”
Mr Ghosn had strong words for Japanese firm Nissan, the fortunes of which he is credited with turning around during his 20-year tenure.
“I made it one of the jewels of the industry in Japan,” he said.
Mr Ghosn has been unable to leave Lebanon since Japan issued an Interpol Red Notice against him after he was smuggled out in a private jet while on bail. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. He also faces charges in France.
He claimed that “there is no more spirit, there is no more vision, there is no more ambition” at Nissan. He said that from the day he was arrested, "for me Nissan disappeared from the map".
Mr Ghosn said the accusations levied against him by the company and the raiding of his homes “is for me more than an insult”.
“This is like 'we don't care about everything you've done for this company for 20 years, we just want you out for a reason which has nothing to do with the interest of the company'," he said.
"Shareholders lost a lot. Employees lost a lot, the brand lost a lot. It's too much.
“You cannot let this kind of behaviour [go] without being punished. And the people who did that, at least those who we are naming in this lawsuit, they cannot continue to sleep quietly in Tokyo — or wherever they are — after they committed so many crimes against the interests of the company which is employing them.”
Company%20Profile
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AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
Read more about the coronavirus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Company%20Profile
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Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The view from The National
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Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The years Ramadan fell in May
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
More on animal trafficking
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
More coverage from the Future Forum
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