Renault Probes Carlos Ghosn for Using Company Money To Fund Lavish Wedding

To add to his already formidable legal problems in Japan, fallen auto industry icon Carlos Ghosn is now being investigated by his former company, Groupe Renault, and the French government for illegally using their money to fund his opulent wedding in 2016.

Renault (RNLSY), of which Ghosn was Chairman and CEO until his firing last Jan. 24, claims Ghosn used Renault's money to pay for his lavish wedding reception following his marriage to Carole Nahas on Oct. 8, 2016. It was also Carole’s 50th birthday.

This wedding was held at the Grand Trianon complex at the fabulous Château de Versailles outside Paris. Use of the space was valued at about €50,000 ($56,000), said a spokesperson for Versailles. In effect, what Renault is saying is that Ghosn tricked it into paying for his wedding reception.

French media reported this wedding was a truly opulent affair “fit for a king and queen.” The wedding party was an extravagant Marie Antoinette-themed splash at Versailles, and featured actors in 18th century clothing.

Renault further alleges Ghosn might have benefited personally from its funding of renovation work at the Palace of Versailles by holding his wedding reception here. It said it’s investigating the agreement with Versailles and has alerted French prosecutors to its preliminary findings.

"As part of compliance audits initiated ... on November 23, 2018, it was identified that a contribution of €50,000, under a sponsorship agreement signed with the Château de Versailles, was allocated to Mr. Ghosn's personal benefit," said Renault. "The elements gathered so far require additional checks to be carried out."

Ghosn's arrest in November in Japan, and his indictment on three charges, has led to probes of his lifestyle. His Japanese partners at Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors allege Ghosn was also greedy.

The Ghosn snafu has also revealed deep divisions between Nissan and Renault which, together with Mitsubishi Motors, comprise the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. This alliance produces one out of every nine cars in the world.

During his glory days, Ghosn was hailed worldwide as the "Le Miracle Worker" who saved both Renault and Nissan from bankruptcy. He has now been imprisoned in a Tokyo detention facility for more than two months.

In early January, Ghosn told the Tokyo District Court he is innocent of charges of financial misconduct that sent him to jail in November 2017.

"I have been wrongly accused and unfairly detained based on meritless and unsubstantiated accusations," said Ghosn. "Contrary to the accusations made by the prosecutors, I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed."