Lawyers for former Nissan Motor Co chairman Carlos Ghosn on Monday called for the release of internal Nissan-Mitsubishi documents to determine how and why he was fired before his arrest for financial misconduct.
The request was made on the first day of hearings before a Dutch court that Ghosn initiated to contest what he has said was an illegal dismissal.
After being jailed and then placed under house arrest in Japan, Ghosn last month skipped bail and fled the country, ending up in Lebanon.
Photo: Reuters
The former auto executive is seeking 15 million euros (US$16.37 million) in compensation from Nissan-Mitsubishi, which along with French partner Renault SA is controlled by Dutch-based holding company Renault Nissan BV.
“Naturally, Ghosn contests his firing” under Dutch labor laws, his lawyer Roeland de Mol said after the hearing.
Ghosn believes that internal Nissan-Mitsubishi documents would shed light on the chain of events that led to the group’s loss of confidence in his leadership and the decision to fire him.
De Mol told reporters that lawyers for the Japanese automakers refused “to make public documents on which they based their criticism” of Ghosn, and added: “That is not how it works, certainly not before a Dutch court.”
Lawyers for the Japanese companies are to present their arguments on March 26 in the Amsterdam court and would seek to have Ghosn’s claim dismissed.
Nissan has told reporters that it has already provided a large amount of documentation since the start of the case and accused Ghosn’s legal team of “going fishing without knowing exactly what it is looking for.”
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