Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn jumped bail at the end of December by escaping from Japan where he had been awaiting trial for over a year on multiple financial misconduct charges, which he has continually denied.
He has been widely shown on global news networks this week arriving in Lebanon, one of a number of countries of which he is a citizen, reportedly using a French passport and transiting via Turkey on a private jet. In what would be entirely appropriate as a Hollywood movie plot, reports suggest he escaped unnoticed from his Tokyo apartment hidden in a large musical instrument box. It is still unclear what outside assistance made his escape possible.
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Carlos Ghosn, who was also chairman of French carmaker Renault SA and of Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, will forego his US$9m bail security and accrue additional charges in Japan in relation to the breach of bail conditions, which prohibited him from leaving Japan among a long list of other personal restrictions.
Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan and officials have confirmed he arrived in the country legally. According to a Bloomberg report, the Lebanese government a weak earlier had requested that Carlos Ghosn and the trial be transferred to Lebanon – without receiving a response from the Japanese government.
Mr Ghosn has now openly offered to stand trial in Lebanon to answer the financial misconduct charges and said he will hold a press conference on the 8th of January to fully brief the media of his intentions.
On arriving at Beirut airport, Mr Ghosn in a statement told reporters: “I have not fled justice – I have escaped injustice and political persecution,” adding, “I can finally communicate freely with the media and I look forward to starting this next week.”
He claims he would not receive a fair trial in Japan, stating, “I will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed”.
Ghosn believes he was the victim of a boardroom coup and that Nissan officials and local prosecutors had colluded to oust him from his position as chairman, fearing a full takeover of Nissan Motor by Renault, which owns 43.4% of the Japanese automaker.
In a separate report that emerged in late December, Nissan Motor’s newly-appointed vice-chief operating officer Jun Seki resigned after less than a month in the job. Mr Seki was expected to drive Nissan global recovery after a disastrous 2019. He was widely believed to have had a major disagreement with newly-appointed CEO Makoto Uchida over how to deal with alliance partner Renault.
