Carlos Ghosn will remain as Renault chief executive after an internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing surrounding his pay.
Mr Ghosn is being detained in a Tokyo jail as police investigate allegations that he understated his pay at Nissan, where he was chair, by tens of millions of dollars over five years.
Renault’s board said on Thursday that his compensation was compliant with French law and industry recommendations.
The board said it did not have “information concerning Carlos Ghosn’s defence”. Renault shares rose 2 per cent after the news.
Nissan sacked Mr Ghosn after its own probe found significant misconduct. Shortly after, he was also removed from his role at Mitsubishi.
Mr Ghosn and a colleague, Greg Kelly, are also accused of “numerous other significant acts of misconduct”, including personal use of company assets.
It is alleged that Mr Ghosn used a network of luxury homes paid for with company money. Nissan is now trying to block its former chair’s family from accessing the properties, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Japan indicted Mr Ghosn and Nissan on Monday, on charges relating to underreporting of income.
The chief executive was arrested again on different charges covering a different time period meaning he can be held in custody for an additional 10 days.
Mr Ghosn, who was born in Brazil to Lebanese parents, previously enjoyed an almost heroic status in Japan – the tale of his efforts to bring Nissan back into profit was made into a bestselling manga (Japanese comic book).
Meanwhile, as leader of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Mr Ghosn headed up the world’s largest car group by sales.
The scandal emerged during a tense period at the top of the group with Nissan executives said to be unhappy with Mr Ghosn’s reported desire to fully merge the Japanese firm with Renault.
