Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is reportedly suing the automaker for more than $1 billion.
The filing marks Mr. Ghosn’s latest effort to clear his name after he was ousted from the firm in 2018 and arrested in Japan on charges of financial wrongdoing.
Mr Ghosn said the allegations were aimed at derailing his plans for a merger between Nissan and Renault.
He fled Japan in a box while awaiting trial and now lives in Lebanon.
The lawsuit, filed in Lebanon, accuses Nissan, two other companies and 12 people of crimes including libel and defamation, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. A hearing is scheduled for September.
Nissan declined to comment.
The compensation Mr. Ghosn is seeking represents more than 5 percent of the company’s market value, which is about $16 billion.
Mr Ghosn once ran the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, one of the world’s largest car-making groups.
Credited with reviving Nissan from near-bankruptcy in the early 2000s, Mr Ghosn was appointed chief executive of French carmaker Renault in 2005, becoming the first person to run two global Fortune 500 companies simultaneously , according to his official bio.
Mr Ghosn says his push for a full merger between Nissan and Renault led to his downfall, worrying some who fear French influence over the Japanese carmaker.
He was arrested in Japan in late 2018 on a number of charges, including allegations that he deliberately misreported his earnings and used company money to fund his own lifestyle.
Mr Ghosn has denied wrongdoing and called Japan’s judicial system “manipulated”. He is currently unable to leave Lebanon as he is the subject of an Interpol red notice issued by Japan.
His escape from the country, in which he disguised himself to pass unnoticed on the streets of Tokyo and was hidden in a large musical equipment box, grabbed global headlines.
In 2021, an American father and son were extradited from the US and sentenced to prison in Japan for helping Mr. Ghosn escape.
In 2022, French authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr Ghosn following an investigation into whether he had diverted company funds for personal use. At the time, he said he was confident he could prove his innocence if charges emerged.
Lebanon, where Mr. Ghosn spent part of his childhood, does not extradite its citizens.
In the statement, Mr Ghosn said the allegations would “stick in people’s minds for years” and that he would “suffer from them for the rest of my life as they have permanent and lasting effects, even if they are based on mere suspicion Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Nissan and Renault are working to finalize an agreement announced earlier this year aimed at “rebalancing” their partnership, which will reduce Renault’s voting rights over Nissan.