Ghosn offers to reimburse Versailles for lavish Marie Antoinette-themed wedding
Ousted Renault boss Carlos Ghosn has offered to reimburse the Chateau de Versailles for his wedding after it emerged the French carmaker paid part of the costs.
The French car firm said yesterday it would alert prosecutors over concerns that Renault’s sponsorship deal with the palace, where Ghosn held a wedding reception in 2016 as well as a party for his wife's birthday, benefitted its former boss to the tune of €50,000 (£43,800).
Read more: Renault will alert prosecutors over Ghosn’s Versailles wedding costs
Ghosn, who was arrested in November over allegations of financial misconduct, plans to pay back the palace over his Marie Antoinette-themed wedding party, according to reports.
The palace would then in turn reimburse Renault.
Renault’s internal probe flagged concerns over the sponsorship contract and has passed it on to Japanese prosecutors.
French daily newspaper Le Figaro reported that Renault’s sponsorship of a renovation project at the Versailles had also included renting the Grand Trianon palace, commissioned by King Louis XIV and built in 1687.
The former Nissan chairman has now been held in a Tokyo jail for almost three months.
Both Nissan and Renault has launched investigations into Ghosn following allegations he under-reported his salary.
The investigations have widened to include claims he used company funds to buy homes in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Amsterdam and Beirut and to pay his sister for consulting jobs she did not do.
Earlier this week it emerged that Nissan plans to list then freeze ¥ 9bn (£63.2m) in compensation to Ghosn in its next quarterly statement but had no intention of paying it.
The payments match how much Ghosn is alleged to have underreported his pay for the eight years leading up to March 2018.
Read more: Ghosn says charges against him are a ‘plot’ by Nissan executives
In remarks to the Tokyo Court, Ghosn denied receiving compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed.
Ghosn is currently being detained in Tokyo but has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.