Fallen automotive magnate Carlos Ghosn during a press conference in Beirut on Jan. 8, 2020. (Credit: AFP photo archive)
A judge decided to evict former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn from his residence in the Achrafieh, Beirut said a judicial source on Saturday, about four years after an investment company accused him of "property violation."
Carlos Ghosn had sought refuge in Lebanon at the end of 2019 after his escape from Japan where he was facing legal charges. He appealed the eviction decision on Friday, according to the same source, who requested anonymity.
Ghosn and his wife must "vacate the property ... within one month," according to a copy of the decision from Oct. 16 reviewed by AFP.
The luxurious residence located in an upscale area of Achrafieh is valued at an estimated $19 million and is registered under the Lebanese company Phoinos, said the judicial official. Phoinos initiated legal proceedings in 2019 and accused Ghosn of "violation of private property and residing in the property without legal basis," the official added.
According to the court document, Ghosn claimed that the company was affiliated with Nissan, that "the property had been purchased ... for his residence, and that there was a signed agreement with Nissan granting him the right to live there." He acquired the property "in accordance with a contractual relationship between Ghosn and Nissan," but the end of this relationship and the plaintiff's desire to reclaim the property invalidate "the legal basis" of his acquisition, according to this document.
Ghosn, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities, was arrested in late 2018 in Japan where he was to be tried for alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as Head of the Renault-Nissan group. He maintains his innocence and denounced a "plot" orchestrated, according to him, by Nissan with the support of the Japanese government, to bring him down and thus avoid a closer union with Renault.
This article was also published in French.