Renault apologises over spying claim

French carmaker Renault has publicly apologised to three executives who were fired in January following highly publicised allegations that they had sold secret information about the company's electric car technology to competitors.

By FRANCE 24 (video)
News Wires (text)

REUTERS - Renault made a public apology to three executives accused of industrial espionage after the Paris prosecutor said the trio had no case to answer.

Bank accounts in Swiss and Liechtenstein, alleged to have been in the names of the executives and seen as key to the case over Renault's electric car technology, did not exist, prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin told a news conference.

The response of authorities in those countries has enabled the prosecutor "to dismiss a certain number of theories, notably that which was put forward in the initial complaint by the company Renault," Marin said.

Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata apologised to the three men following Marin's comments, pledging to repair the injustice against them after they were fired following a legal complaint in January.

Marin said the investigation was now focusing on whether Renault was the victim of fraud as no evidence had emerged backing its complaint of espionage.

The Paris prosecutor said Renault had already paid 310,000 euros for false information and had 390,000 euros more to pay.

Renault confirmed it had convened a special board meeting, and said it would make a statement afterwards.

The carmaker's management will face consequences now the case is unravelling. Pelata has hinted his own job may be at risk, saying Renault would accept all the consequences "up to the highest level of the company, that is to say up to myself".

The 15 percent state-owned carmaker came under fire for carrying out its own investigation into suspected spying before informing the authorities of its fears.

The case briefly caused tensions with China after a government source said investigators were following up a possible link with China before a formal inquiry was launched.

Renault and the government subsequently played down talk of the link and China angrily denied any involvement.

A Renault security manager was on Sunday placed under investigation for suspected fraud concerning the spying allegations.

One analyst, who asked not to be named, said COO Pelata was "not necessarily irreplaceable, but it would still be a significant shock" if he stood down over the affair.

The case also affects Carlos Ghosn, the dynamic CEO of Renault and its partner Nissan Motor.

Early on he spoke out personally, saying the carmaker had "multiple pieces of evidence" for its allegations.

But in February Ghosn said he had not taken part personally in the investigation.

"If every time something happens in a company you had to take your pen and go and look into it to be sure of what people are telling you the company would cease to exist," he said.

Alliance cement

Ghosn is seen as crucial to the Renault-Nissan alliance, however: "Ghosn is today the only real cement holding the alliance together," the analyst said.

"In my view it would not be possible for any one person to take over the two roles of Renault CEO and Nissan CEO, so we would perhaps be in a situation in which the two groups would grow apart instead of coming closer together," he added.

Brazilian-born Ghosn gained a reputation as an auto industry guru after turning around loss-making Nissan a decade ago, and now jets between France, Japan and the United States.

But he has not escaped criticism, coming under fire for the failure of Renault's ambitious 2009 strategic plan -- which he blamed on the wider crisis -- and in February for what many industry analysts thought was an underwhelming new plan.

Some analysts also doubt his evangelical belief in the potential of electric vehicles. He thinks 10 percent of the new vehicle market by 2020 will be electric, and Renault and Nissan are jointly investing 4 billion euros in EVs.