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Post by Admin on Jan 1, 2020 18:42:55 GMT
He was once a titan of the car industry who held hero status in Japan. He then became one of the country's most well-known criminal suspects. Now he's an international fugitive. Carlos Ghosn, the multi-millionaire former boss of Nissan, spent months preparing to stand trial on financial misconduct charges. At least, that was what the Japanese authorities were led to believe. He posted 1bn yen (£6.8m; $8.9m) in bail in April. He was monitored by a 24-hour camera installed outside his house. His use of technology was heavily restricted and he was banned from travelling abroad. Then, in a move that left Japan red-faced and his own legal team baffled, he appeared in Lebanon on New Year's Eve. "I have escaped injustice and political persecution," he declared in a statement. "We were completely caught by surprise. I am dumbfounded," his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told a crowd of reporters in Tokyo shortly after learning of Mr Ghosn's flight. "I want to ask him, 'How could you do this to us?'" A musical escape? One Lebanese TV channel - MTV - reported that Mr Ghosn had fled his court-approved residence in Tokyo with the assistance of a paramilitary group who were disguised amongst a band of musicians. It said the band had performed at his house and, shortly after they had finished, the 65-year-old hid himself in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport. If this really happened, it may have been a tight squeeze even for Mr Ghosn, whose height is reported at 5ft 6in (167cm). According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. The broadcaster provided no proof for this theory which, unsurprisingly, spread rapidly across social media. But donning a spy-movie disguise is not beyond Mr Ghosn. In March, in a bid to throw journalists off his scent, he left prison disguised as a construction worker. He was quickly identified, mocked in the media, and his lawyer soon apologised for the "amateur plan".
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Post by Admin on Jan 1, 2020 22:14:40 GMT
What did Carlos Ghosn say? Mr Ghosn released a statement after news agencies on Monday reported he had travelled to Lebanon. Confirming he had gone to the Middle Eastern country, Mr Ghosn said he would "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied. "I have not fled justice - I have escaped injustice and political persecution." Big in Lebanon Analysis by Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Beirut The former Nissan boss will have no trouble finding somewhere safe and luxurious to stay in Lebanon. Of Lebanese heritage, Mr Ghosn spent his early years here with family members. He's much celebrated and even appears on one of the country's postage stamps. He is also the co-founder of the IXSIR vineyard here, which boasts wines that are rich and "of remarkable elegance". Escaping Japan would have been difficult given that his three passports were taken from him, but Lebanon has less than stringent border controls. Mr Ghosn is said to have arrived by private jet on Sunday evening and someone of his stature would have been able to breeze through immigration. When in town, he is often escorted by the security services. He's been held in Japan for more than a year and in that time Lebanon has changed dramatically. Months of protests against corruption and the political elite have ousted the prime minister, and there's a full-blown economic crisis. Japan gives millions in aid to Lebanon and will want Mr Ghosn returned. He may have successfully fled Japan, but he hasn't escaped his troubles.
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Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2020 18:57:47 GMT
Lebanon's justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn.
Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution.
Ghosn has skipped bail before a trial on financial misconduct charges and fled to Lebanon via Turkey. Authorities have said that he entered legally on a French passport.
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive.
Serhan said the Lebanese prosecution “will carry out its duties,” suggesting for the first time that Ghosn may be brought in for questioning.
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Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2020 21:57:08 GMT
Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo home of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn after he skipped bail and fled to Lebanon before his trial on financial misconduct charges. Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment. Japanese media showed investigators entering the home, which was Ghosn's third residence in Tokyo since he was first arrested a year ago. Authorities have now searched each one. Government offices in Japan are closed this week for the New Year's holidays. It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in Lebanon. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.” Lebanon has said Ghosn entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him. The Lebanese minister for presidential affairs, Selim Jreissati, told the An-Nahar newspaper that Ghosn entered legally at the airport with a French passport and Lebanese ID. Ghosn's lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.
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Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2020 21:21:06 GMT
A Turkish private jet firm says a rogue employee acted alone to help former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan using its aircrafts.
Mystery surrounded how Ghosn, who faces criminal charges in Japan, travelled to Lebanon via Turkey at the weekend.
But the MNG jet firm now says one of its employees falsified records and arranged two flights for Mr Ghosn under different names.
The firm said it had filed a criminal complaint over the matter.
Mr Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationalities, was living under strict bail conditions when he left Japan.
When he turned up in Lebanon, his own lawyer in Japan told reporters that he was "dumbfounded".
One story, reported by the Lebanese media and widely circulated online but denounced as "fiction" by the Ghosn family, claimed he had escaped his house in a musical instrument case.
But on Thursday, Japanese broadcaster NHK quoted "investigative sources" as saying that surveillance video showed Mr Ghosn leaving his home in Tokyo, alone, at noon on Sunday.
The installation of security cameras was reportedly a condition of his bail, but it is not clear if they were constantly monitored.
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