Inspecteur Carlos

4 March 2011 By Pierre Briancon

The spectacular spying case brought by the French carmaker against three top executives in its electric car programme looks empty. CEO Carlos Ghosn’s deputy is talking about resigning. The snafu shows the dangers of excessive corporate paranoia. Renault’s business could suffer.

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Patrick Pelata, Renault's chief operating officer, said on March 3 that "a certain number of elements" had led the French car maker to doubt the veracity of allegations it has made against three company executives it has accused of espionage.

Renault fired the three men in January over suspicions of industrial espionage targeting its high profile electric vehicle programme, hinting that information had been passed on to a foreign power.

The French intelligence service was brought in to officially investigate the case, which included allegations of secret bank accounts.

"When the inquiry is finished, we will accept all the consequences up to the highest level of the company, that is to say up to myself," Pelata said in an interview with Le Figaro.

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