Renault-Nissan affair: Carlos Ghosn and his kitty from Oman

Carlos Ghosn, in Lebanon in September 2020. REUTERS - Mohamed Azakir

Text by: Alexis Bedu Follow

3 mins

Ten days ago, French justice issued an international arrest warrant against the former CEO of the Nissan-Renault alliance, still a refugee in Lebanon.

This Tuesday, May 3, 2022, it is for this same investigation – abuse of corporate assets and money laundering – that Carlos Ghosn is making headlines in France.

Advertisement

Read more

Carlos Ghosn made the front page, particularly that of the newspaper

, which titled on his slush fund: 80 million euros, this is the amount that the Franco-Lebanese businessman allegedly amassed illegally between 2009 and 2018, while he was at the head of the Renault-Nissan group.

Investigators are interested in his links with the distributor of the car manufacturer in the Sultanate of Oman.

It is there that Carlos Ghosn would have sheltered his kitty, according to the revelations of the newspaper this Tuesday morning.

The French justice investigation shed light on the money laundering mechanism in place, noting that several payments issued by Renault and Nissan - nearly 120 million euros - were sent to the distributor's accounts in Oman , the SBA company headed by a certain Suhail Bahwan.

Other transfers, for an amount of 80 million euros, are distributed from Omani accounts to those of Carlos Ghosn and his family.

🚨 Versailles, jewelry, private jet: these expenses would only be trifles in the face of the potential slush fund of #CarlosGhosn brought to light by justice@Libe reveals his long hearing by a judge of the Nanterre court in June 2021 👇 https: //t.co/kM0dEbGFDf

— Liberation (@libe) May 2, 2022

Bahwan, Ghosn's Omani friend

This money comes from the financial aid paid by Renault and Nissan to the SBA company, as to other distributors of the alliance.

Institutionalized aid to bail out a distributor's coffers when he has not sold well or bonuses when he has performed well in his sales.

On the SBA side, the scores were not at the level hoped for by Renault.

The distributor from Oman was even reluctant for a while to cover the Saudi market, explaining that Renault vehicles were not resistant enough to high heat and dust.

These are the explanations given this Tuesday in

.

Of these 120 million euros in aid, 80 would have been retroceded to the accounts of Carlos Ghosn.

He would also have largely and personally intervened so that the company of Suhail Bahwan receives these 120 million euros.

This is what put the flea in the ear to the French investigating judge in charge of the investigation.

The Omani billionaire also let Carlos Ghosn know directly that the aid was not sufficient, which the ex-Renault boss acknowledged during his hearing.

He also admitted that he was sending the message to his teams for the granting of additional boosts to SBA, but he denied having been in direct contact with these operations.

►To re-read: Greg Kelly, ex-assistant of Carlos Ghosn, sentenced to six months in prison suspended

Protected by his Lebanese nationality

Their relationship does not seem to be purely professional.

Suhail Bahwan is an 83-year-old businessman.

He has a fortune of 2.5 billion dollars.

And in 2009, he lent 25 million to the ex-wife of Carlos Ghosn.

A sum still not reimbursed, moreover.

Then there were other millions distributed, supposedly for the advice given by the CEO of Renault to the billionaire.

At the time, Suhail Bahwan even wanted to recruit Carlos Ghosn, explains

.

France has issued an international arrest warrant, but an extradition of Carlos Ghosn from Lebanon to France remains unlikely.

Lebanon has as a principle the non-extradition of its nationals.

However, Carlos Ghosn has triple French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationality.

Lebanese justice has also opened proceedings against Carlos Ghosn, which makes his lawyers say that their client " 

 ".

After escaping Japanese justice, Carlos Ghosn could well remain out of the reach of French investigators for a long time.

►Read again: In Lebanon, the extradition of Carlos Ghosn has a slim chance of succeeding

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• France

• Lebanon

• Industry

• Justice

• Automotive

• Oman