Renault seals 'spy' case compensation deal

RENAULT announced last week that it had finalised a compensation deal with three executives it falsely accused of feeding secrets of the company’s electric vehicle development program to China.

In a statement, the French manufacturer said it had “finalised compensation for the harm done to Michel Balthazard, Bertrand Rochette and Matthieu Tenenbaum” and that it had reached a “positive outcome to the negotiations on compensation ... as part of the intelligence fraud that recently occurred at Renault”.

No details of the payouts were given, but overseas reports have indicated that the claim for damages ran into the millions.

While Mr Balthazard, who was senior vice-chairman of advanced engineering, and Mr Rochette, who was second in charge in the same division, have decided not to return to the company, Renault said Mr Tenenbaum had accepted a position in its corporate strategy and planning department.

The former deputy head of Renault’s EV program started back this week.

All three executives had been wrongfully accused of spying and were dismissed from the company in January.

Last week, Renault thanked the three men and their legal representatives “for the dispassionate environment in which the negotiations were held” and also made the point of thanking Mr Balthazard and Mr Rochette “for the quality of their work at the group”.

Renault’s chief operating officer Patrick Pelata resigned last month over the bungled EV spy case, although he remains working with the Renault-Nissan alliance.