Carlos Ghosn now faces both a spy scandal at Renault and the impact of the Japanese earthquake on Nissan.
The ongoing investigation into claims that Chinese spies had infiltrated the French carmaker Renault has taken another turn worthy of a pulp spy novel.
A company security agent is now facing charges of “organized fraud,” accused of inventing the claim of industrial espionage that saw three senior Renault executives come under a cloud of suspicion. While those managers now seem totally exonerated, it is unclear if others might face charges in what is now being described as a scam.
The latest twist could further complicate matters for Renault’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, who came under fire for his outspoken comments early on in what was billed as a Chinese effort to tap into the French maker’s aggressive electric vehicle program. Complicating matters personally for Ghosn, he also serves as CEO for Renault’s Japanese alliance partner, Nissan, and is now overseeing efforts to try to figure out just how much damage the Asian maker suffered as the result of last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
French news reports suggest the Renault security agent was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he attempted to flee on a flight for Africa.
A new investigation by prosecutors in Paris, where Renault is headquartered, will not directly address the spy probe, which remains underway.
“Renault wants the whole truth to come out and will repair any injustice that has been done,” said the maker’s spokeswoman, Frederique Le Greves.
The process of repairing the mess could claim a number of senior executive, including Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata, who told the French publication, Le Figaro, that executives “right up to me” could be punished for their mistakes.
The worsening situation was touched off by an anonymous document suggesting a breach of security that pointed to three executives who were reportedly paid to leak internal documents on the battery car program to the Chinese. The three, including Bertrand Rochette, the second-in-command of Renault’s advanced engineering operations, were suspended on January 3rd. (Click Here for more on prior developments in the spy story.)
Initially, Renault used its internal security resources to investigate, only belatedly seeking assistance from the French Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence. Bur when the DCRI probe got underway it reversed direction, and at this point strongly indicates that there was no spying. Instead, it appears that the anonymous “evidence” was either the result of a political grudge or, more likely, some sort of financial scheme.
Last week, a Renault attorney revealed the maker had paid $347,000 (250,000 Euros) for supposed evidence pointing to the company executives. That material reportedly revealed secret accounts used for the payoffs. But the DCRI probe did not discover a secret cash deal, and supposed Swiss bank account numbers were found to be fake.
The three executives and their lawyers have repeatedly proclaimed innocence.
Dominique Gevrey, a former French intelligence agent, was picked up at Charles De Gaulle Airport over the weekend. Two other Renault security agents have been undergoing questioning in connection with the potential fraud.