Feb 7, 2019
Renault to alert Ghosn's wedding costs to French authorities
Bloomberg News
,French automaker Renault SA plans to alert French authorities to a payment it made to the tourist landmark Chateau de Versailles that personally benefited jailed former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
“The elements gathered so far require additional checks to be carried out,” Renault said in a statement Thursday. The 50,000-euro (US$57,000) payment was part of a sponsorship deal between the automaker and the castle outside Paris, leading Renault “to bring these facts to the attention of the judicial authorities.”
The payment was related to Ghosn’s 2016 wedding celebration held at the site, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Le Figaro first reported the probe.
Renault’s move to involve French authorities marks the first time the carmaker has uncovered potential wrongdoing by the fallen executive in France. Its findings stem from an internal probe Renault started in November shortly after Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo. He was quickly ousted by alliance partners Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors and resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Renault last month.
Ghosn and his wife Carole used the Grand Trianon part of Versailles for a party they threw in 2016 inspired by Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film, Marie Antoinette. The wedding was followed by a photo spread published in Town & Country magazine.
Born in Brazil, raised in Lebanon and educated in Paris, Ghosn jetted around the world visiting car plants, meeting ministers and eating and sleeping in the world’s finest restaurants and hotels. Revelations since his arrest have lifted the veil on luxury homes, opulent decor and lavish entertaining.