French auto giant Renault SA today said it wrongfully fired three senior executives in January for alleged industrial espionage. Company chief executive Carlos Ghosn apologized to the three men, all of whom had denied the allegations.

The apology came after the Paris state prosecutor said the spying the company alleged may be a case of fraud. For Ghosn the espionage debacle is a case of the mighty taking a fall. After he performed a rapid turnaround of faltering Nissan nearly a decade ago, it seemed Ghosn could do no wrong. Other auto executives celebrated and studied his methods. But today he seems as fallible as other auto-industry bosses, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Renault said Ghosn and chief operating officer Patrick Pelata plan to meet with the executives and discuss compensation for damage to their reputations.

As reported in a Wall Street Journal article, Ghosn said Patrick Pélata, who is essentially in charge of running the company day-to-day, offered to resign as chief operating officer, but that the CEO refused. Instead, Ghosn said he, Pelata and other executives involved in the firings will give up their 2010 bonus and stock options for this year.

Renault has also said it plans to reinstate the three executives and that Ghosn and to take disciplinary action against three members of its security department.