French police raid Renault HQ as part of Ghosn’s probe

Bloomberg

French police raided Renault SA’s headquarters outside Paris to gather evidence for an investigation related to spending by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.
A spokesman for Renault confirmed the police presence following a report by L’Express, while an official at the prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
French investigators opened a probe earlier this year into whether Ghosn improperly used a sponsorship deal to pay for a 2016 wedding party at the Chateau de Versailles. The magazine said the probe was recently widened to include spending at Renault-Nissan BV, the Dutch joint venture between Renault and Nissan Motor Co, and Ghosn’s relationship with an Oman billionaire who was a Nissan intermediary. A spokesman for Ghosn has denied the allegations related to the Oman distributor.
Ghosn, who was chief executive officer of Renault and chairman of the two carmakers and the third partner in their alliance Mitsubishi Motors Corp, is facing trial in Japan for alleged financial crimes including funneling millions of dollars from Nissan through an intermediary. He’s denied all the charges, which stem from an internal probe by Nissan. Renault has also carried out its own investigation, while another audit examined the workings of RNBV.
The RNBV audit, conducted by the French firm Mazars, highlighted $12.3 million in spending that went towards trips to the Cannes film festival, Rio de Janeiro Carnival and flights on a corporate jet that may not have been related to Ghosn’s responsibilities, people familiar with the matter have said. It also concluded that the venture lacked oversight.
Auditors also questioned events at Versailles. Ghosn has said he planned to pay back the renowned castle for costs related to his wedding party after Renault disclosed he may have improperly used a sponsorship deal to host the event. The carmaker had signalled the “personal
benefit” worth 50,000 euros to French authorities.