That legacy has been hit hard in recent months. Mr. Ghosn was arrested in November by the Japanese authorities on suspicion of financial wrongdoing in connection with his role at Nissan, and he spent more than three months in a Tokyo jail before his release on bail last month. He faces criminal charges, filed by prosecutors who allege he underreported his compensation and improperly shifted personal investment losses onto the company’s books.

Nissan has said that it alerted prosecutors to Mr. Ghosn’s alleged activities. A Nissan-appointed review panel said last week that it had found numerous corporate governance failings at the company and blamed Mr. Ghosn for the shortcomings. The report said he had accumulated too much authority and made it difficult for internal monitors to find wrongdoing.

Mr. Ghosn has said that he is innocent of all allegations and that his compensation and expenditures were approved by others at Nissan. He has blamed his ouster on Nissan executives who he says conspired to keep him from bringing the Japanese company closer together with Renault. He has called criticism leveled by Nissan executives “part of an unsubstantiated smear campaign.”

Mr. Ghosn is under scrutiny in France, too. His legal problems deepened on Wednesday when Renault’s board said it might pursue legal action against him for what it called “questionable and concealed practices and violations of the group’s ethical principles.”

The statement by the Renault board further distanced the company from its former chief executive. The company has already docked his pay and sent evidence to French prosecutors about possible misconduct.