Nissan filed a civil lawsuit against former Chairman Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday, seeking an initial amount of 10 billion Japanese yen ($90 million).

The company said the suit, filed at Yokohama District Court in Kanagawa, was "in order to recover a significant part of the monetary damages inflicted on the company by its former chairman as a result of years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity."

The claimed damages are linked to Ghosn's "breach of fiduciary duty as a company director and his misappropriation of Nissan's resources and assets," the Japanese automaker said in a statement.

The size of the claim is expected to rise as Nissan seeks to recover fines paid to the Japanese Financial Services Agency, and likely penalties imposed in criminal proceedings related to Ghosn's activities.

The figure has been calculated based on funds linked to "fraudulent payments made to or by Ghosn" including the unpaid use of overseas property, private use of corporate jets, payments to his sister and personal lawyer, along with the costs of Nissan's investigation into Ghosn and subsequent regulatory and legal costs.