TOKYO: Japanese tax authorities have concluded that former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman, Carlos Ghosn, used more company funds for private purposes than previously confirmed, informed sources said Thursday.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau found that Nissan failed to declare about 1 billion yen ($9 million) in taxable income over the five years through March 2019, judging that costs related to Ghosn’s personal use of a Nissan-owned jet and other payments should not have been counted as the automaker’s expenses.

Payments also judged to be his personal expenses include a donation to a university in Lebanon and rents he paid for his residences in Tokyo and Paris.

Also, the bureau concluded that money he gave to his sister in the name of consultation fees was a dummy payment for the purpose of concealing income, imposing punitive taxes on the automaker.

Nissan was told to pay about 250 million yen ($2 million) in back taxes and penalty, including extra taxes for underreporting its income.

Previously, the bureau recognized that Nissan failed to declare 150 million yen ($1 million) in taxable income over the three years through March 2014 in connection with Ghosn’s private use of company funds.

This means that the tax office has confirmed that Ghosn privately used a total of 1.15 billion yen ($10 million) in Nissan funds over the eight years through March 2019.

Nissan is seeking 10 billion yen ($94 million) in damages from Ghosn in a lawsuit filed with Yokohama District Court in February this year, claiming that it suffered massive financial losses due to Ghosn’s misconduct.

Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of underreporting his remuneration in violation of the securities law. He was later indicted for charges also including special breach of trust.

He fled to Lebanon while on bail in December last year.

The bureau has also found that Nissan failed to declare 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) in income earned by an affiliated company in a tax haven, through its probes into the automaker over the five years through March 2019, according to the sources.

Due to this, Nissan faces about 400 million yen ($3 million) in back taxes and penalty.

JIJI press