Ghosn, Nissan Skirmish Over Access to Brazilian Apartment

Nissan Motor Co. and ex-Chairman Carlo Ghosn have been fighting over access to an apartment in Rio die Janeiro that the company claims may contain evidence of his financial wrongdoing.

Ghosn was indicted yesterday in Japan on charges of underreporting his compensation by $43 million over five years. The charges followed his arrest on Nov. 19.

Ghosn has asked for permission for his family to retrieve his personal belonging, along with art and documents from the apartment on Copacabana Beach. Reports say the unit has three safes containing cash, which Nissan considers evidence of Ghosn’s financial misconduct.

Reuters reports that Ghosn’s family obtained a Brazilian court injunction last week to gain access that was soon overturned. The Nikkei reports today that the family apparently obtained a new court order that grants access.

Local media reports say Nissan had changed the locks on the apartment, which it owns. The Nikkei says the carmaker bought the dwelling in 2011 for more than 500 million yen ($4.4 million) to be used as a personal residence by the Brazilian-born Ghosn.

Bloomberg News reports that Nissan also has tried to block Ghosn’s access to a $9 million home the company acquired in Beirut for his use. The news service says Nissan hasn’t been able to gain access to similarly used company properties in Amsterdam and Paris because only Ghosn and his staff have keys.