2:17 pm, December 16, 2020
Property and other assets worth €13m have been seized from Carlos Ghosn by French tax authorities, it has emerged.
The Times reports the items were seized from Ghosn because the French authorities believe he fraudulently claimed to have lived in the Netherlands.
The former Renault-Nissan boss is suspected of having avoided French taxes by claiming that he was domiciled in Amsterdam from 2012 until his 2018 arrest in Japan.
The seized property belonging to Ghosn and his wife Carole include an apartment in Paris bought for €5.9m last year, and part of another property in the French capital he shares with his ex-wife.
Also seized were 538,000 Renault shares, €500,000 of letters of credit and bank accounts, French media reported.
Ghosn said he told French authorities he had moved his residence to Amsterdam in 2012 ‘as a sign of neutrality’ because the city was the home of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Although income tax is higher in the Netherlands than in France, expat high-earners can negotiate a reduction of 30 per cent for several years after they move to the country.
However, French officials say they never endorsed Ghosn’s decision to move his tax residence.
Nissan’s civil court case against former chairman Ghosn begins in Japan
Japan was wrong to detain Carlos Ghosn and he should get compensation, say human rights experts
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