Former auto titan Carlos Ghosn, currently under house arrest in Tokyo, is suing Nissan and Mitsubishi in a Dutch court for "improper termination" of his contract, French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.

Ghosn is accusing the Japanese manufacturers of breaching his contract as an employee of Nissan-Mitsubishi BV, their joint subsidiary based in the Netherlands, and seeking up to €15 million ($16.8 million) in damages, it said.

The big-spending former chief of both Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan is awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct.

He was kept behind bars for over 100 days before being granted bail and sacked from all his management roles.

Ghosn is accused of under-reporting millions of dollars in income at Nissan and of using company funds for personal expenses – charges he denies.