<p class="title rtejustify">The board of Renault was poised to cancel as much as 30 million euros ($34 million) in deferred pay and severance to its ousted boss Carlos Ghosn, as directors met on Wednesday to approve its full-year accounts, sources told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Renault will scrap around 460,000 performance shares attributed to Ghosn since 2014-15 and now worth 26 million euros, under proposals backed by the French government, its biggest shareholder, two people familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The board is also likely to drop a two-year non-compete clause worth 4-5 million euros to Ghosn, who was forced out in January following his arrest in Japan for suspected financial misconduct at Nissan, Renault's alliance partner.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">A Renault spokesman did not immediately return calls and messages seeking comment.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Ghosn, 64, was arrested in Japan and ousted as Nissan chairman last November and has since been indicted along with Nissan and a fellow director for failing to disclose more than $80 million in additional 2010-18 compensation that he had arranged to be paid later. Ghosn denies the deferred pay was illegal or required disclosure.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The scandal, triggered by a Nissan internal investigation, initially strained ties with 43.4 percent-owner Renault as the French carmaker continued to back Ghosn until he was eventually forced to resign last month.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Renault appointed new Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on Jan. 24 and last week passed evidence to prosecutors that the company had paid part of Ghosn's 2016 Versailles wedding costs, in a first case of his suspected misconduct at the French carmaker.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Ghosn's representatives say he was unaware the 50,000 euro rental had been charged to Renault and now plans to repay it.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The proposal to scrap most of Ghosn's severance package was drawn up by Renault's remuneration committee and is unlikely to be rejected by the full board, the sources said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Left intact, his golden parachute could have been politically explosive in France, where President Macron is battling "yellow vest" street protests over low pay and inequality.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had asked the government's lead board representative at Renault to "ensure that Mr Ghosn's compensation is cut as much as possible", a ministry official said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"We've always been against excessive pay," the official said. "It's not about the presumption of innocence but ethics and decency." ($1 = 0.8827 euros)</p>
<p class="title rtejustify">The board of Renault was poised to cancel as much as 30 million euros ($34 million) in deferred pay and severance to its ousted boss Carlos Ghosn, as directors met on Wednesday to approve its full-year accounts, sources told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Renault will scrap around 460,000 performance shares attributed to Ghosn since 2014-15 and now worth 26 million euros, under proposals backed by the French government, its biggest shareholder, two people familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The board is also likely to drop a two-year non-compete clause worth 4-5 million euros to Ghosn, who was forced out in January following his arrest in Japan for suspected financial misconduct at Nissan, Renault's alliance partner.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">A Renault spokesman did not immediately return calls and messages seeking comment.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Ghosn, 64, was arrested in Japan and ousted as Nissan chairman last November and has since been indicted along with Nissan and a fellow director for failing to disclose more than $80 million in additional 2010-18 compensation that he had arranged to be paid later. Ghosn denies the deferred pay was illegal or required disclosure.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The scandal, triggered by a Nissan internal investigation, initially strained ties with 43.4 percent-owner Renault as the French carmaker continued to back Ghosn until he was eventually forced to resign last month.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Renault appointed new Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on Jan. 24 and last week passed evidence to prosecutors that the company had paid part of Ghosn's 2016 Versailles wedding costs, in a first case of his suspected misconduct at the French carmaker.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Ghosn's representatives say he was unaware the 50,000 euro rental had been charged to Renault and now plans to repay it.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The proposal to scrap most of Ghosn's severance package was drawn up by Renault's remuneration committee and is unlikely to be rejected by the full board, the sources said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Left intact, his golden parachute could have been politically explosive in France, where President Macron is battling "yellow vest" street protests over low pay and inequality.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had asked the government's lead board representative at Renault to "ensure that Mr Ghosn's compensation is cut as much as possible", a ministry official said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">"We've always been against excessive pay," the official said. "It's not about the presumption of innocence but ethics and decency." ($1 = 0.8827 euros)</p>