Nissan 'paid huge sums' for chairman Carlos Ghosn's houses in Rio, Paris, Amsterdam and Beirut

Mitsubishi and Renault boards meet to decide fate of car makers' alliance boss as fresh details of scandal emerge

Mr Ghosn is a giant in the world of car manufacturing (PA)

Nissan paid huge sums to buy luxury houses around the world for its boss without any legitimate business reason, it has been alleged.

Chair Carlos Ghosn used properties in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Amsterdam and Beirut, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.

Details of the scandal emerged after the superstar boss of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance was arrested in Japan over accusations of underreporting his income by as much as £35m. He also allegedly received compensation that was supposed to be for fellow executives.

France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Renault should remove Mr Ghosn from his position. Renault will hold a board meeting on Tuesday to discuss how to deal with Mr Ghosn’s arrest and planned dismissal from Nissan.

Mr Le Maire told broadcaster France Info that Mr Ghosn cannot lead Renault after the accusations. He urged the board to appoint temporary leadership. The minister added that French authorities have examined Mr Ghosn’s tax affairs in the country and found no wrongdoing.

The third alliance member, Mitsubishi, said it would hold a board meeting to decide whether to dismiss Mr Ghosn as chair.

Mr Ghosn’s arrest on Monday marked a precipitous fall for the chair of the world’s biggest car company, who had been hailed for turning round Renault’s fortunes in the 1990s.

A Nissan investigation revealed that, as well as underreporting his pay, Mr Ghosn had committed “numerous other significant acts of misconduct” including personal use of company assets, it alleged in a statement on Monday.

Nissan alleged that another director, Greg Kelly, had been “deeply” involved in the misconduct.

Shares in the company fell more than 5 per cent on Tuesday.

Mr Ghosn’s ex-wife joined the growing multitude of critics, apparently posting an oblique reference to her former husband on social media.

“All narcissists are hypocrites,” Rita Ghosn wrote. “They pretend to have morals and values that they really don’t possess. Behind closed doors, they lie, insult, criticise, disrespect and abuse.

“They can do and say whatever they want, but how dare you say anything back to them or criticise them.

“They have a whole set of rules for others, but follow none of their own rules, and practice nothing of what they preach.”

Mr Ghosn has worked at Nissan since 1999, when he joined as chief operating officer, and served as chief executive officer from 2001 until 2017.

Before joining Nissan Mr Ghosn earned the nickname “Le Cost Killer” during his time at Renault due to his ruthless management strategy.