TOKYO: Japanese car giant Nissan on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit to reclaim some $90 million from former chairman Carlos Ghosn for what it called “years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity.”
The 65-year-old faces multiple charges of financial misconduct in Japan but fled to Lebanon before he could face trial. He denies any wrongdoing.
Nissan said the damages had been calculated on the basis of the cost to the firm of Ghosn’s “corrupt practices.”
It accused Ghosn of “the use of overseas residential property without paying rent, private use of corporate jets, payments to his sister, payments to his personal lawyer in Lebanon.”
It said the amount was likely to rise and added that the company would also seek to sue Ghosn for “groundless and defamatory remarks” he made when he briefed the media in Lebanon.
Once hailed as a corporate savior for rescuing Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy, Ghosn was facing a trial in Japan over a series of alleged crimes, including under-reporting his compensation to the tune of around $85 million.
Ghosn spent more than 100 days in detention in Japan after his sudden November 2018 arrest, but launched an audacious escape plan while out on bail in Tokyo and managed to travel to Lebanon apparently undetected.
He believes Nissan turned on him because executives there were concerned he was moving the firm closer to French partner Renault, part of a three-way alliance with Mitsubishi Motors.
A source close to the executive scoffed at the firm’s latest move.
“Nissan’s games continue. This suit was announced the day before the financial results of the group are published,” said this source, who asked not to be identified.
“We note that after calling for months for damages of 35 billion yen, today Nissan is demanding a lower sum (10 billion yen),” added this source.
Nissan files $90m suit against Ghosn
https://arab.news/5um73
Nissan files $90m suit against Ghosn
- Ghosn faces multiple charges of financial misconduct in Japan
- Nissan said the damages had been calculated on the basis of the cost to the firm
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
