Carlos Ghosn Has to Return His Yacht (And $32 Million) to Nissan

A Virgin Islands court found Ghosn's 121-foot-long yacht improperly purchased and has ordered the former Nissan CEO to return it.

Photo by: Superyachts.com

By: Victoria Scott

Oct 2, 2024 at 1:30pm ET

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The once-CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, has been embroiled in a variety of legal battles since his 2018 arrest—and subsequent dramatic escape—for alleged financial misconduct at the helm of Nissan. Now he's been dealt another blow by the British Virgin Islands High Court. They say his 121-foot-long Italian yacht, which he took delivery of in 2017, was improperly purchased using corporate funds. The court has ordered Ghosn to return it to Nissan.

In 2018, Ghosn was arrested by Japanese authorities and charged with a variety of crimes all centered on alleged improper financial conduct while head of Nissan. After a few stints in Japanese jail while awaiting trial, he fled Japan inside a musical instrument case to his home in Lebanon, where he has remained since.

In the six years since, French authorities have also brought charges against him for similar alleged financial misconduct at Renault, and Interpol has a red notice (basically, "arrest on sight") issued for him. While Ghosn has hunkered down in Lebanon—which doesn't extradite citizens—legal proceedings against him have continued around the world. The yacht case is the first official judgement against him.

Surrendering the yacht itself, a Custom Line Navetta 37 that Ghosn christened "Shachou" ("The Boss" in Japanese), is only a fraction of the judgement against Ghosn. The court has also ordered Ghosn, his wife, and a shell company the pair allegedly created to help redirect funds to themselves, to pay $32 million dollars in damages to Nissan.

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Ghosn, for his part, directly told Automotive News that he was "obviously appealing." He remains steadfast in all of the (many) cases against him he is completely innocent and was railroaded by the Japanese government out of fear Renault would come to dominate Nissan in the merger he spearheaded.

The yacht itself isn't going anywhere, for the time being. As The Autopian pointed out, it's moored in Beirut, and unless Ghosn decides to sail it to a country that cooperates with Interpol directly, the Lebanese authorities are unlikely to seize it (or Ghosn, for that matter). In the meantime, if you'd like to window shop for your own Custom Line Navetta 37 until Ghosn's comes up for auction, you can! $12 million for 121 feet seems like a steal, right?