Brazil court grants Nissan ex-boss Ghosn access to Rio apartment

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazilian court decided on Wednesday that ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn or his daughter should have the right to access a contested Rio apartment to retrieve personal belongings, according to a legal document seen by Reuters.

Ghosn and Nissan Motor Co Ltd <7201.T> have battled and appealed several times over the beachfront apartment, which he used while working for the carmaker, since he was accused of financial wrongdoing last month.

At the centre of the dispute is Nissan's claim that the apartment contains three safes that the carmaker says it found there. Nissan says it has not opened the safes but that they may contain evidence against Ghosn, which could be lost if people close to the former executive gain access to the apartment.

The decision allows Ghosn and his daughter Caroline, who has recently travelled to Brazil, to retrieve personal belongings such as "clothes, photos, books, watches, jewellery, documents" and other personal belongings.

A Tokyo court on Tuesday rejected Ghosn's appeal to end his detention after he was arrested last month on allegations of financial misconduct.

To retrieve the items, representatives for Ghosn will have to go accompanied by two judicial officers, the decision says.

A representative for Nissan in Brazil did not have an immediate comment.

A representative for the Ghosn family in the United States did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Christian Plumb and Phil Berlowitz)