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Report Nissan's Carlos Ghosn to be arrested by Japan authorities for alleged financial violations
CrunchSlaughtered
RPM Ruler
As I wrote in another thread Carlos Ghosn - The Count of Monte Cristo
Soup
Premium
Japan's media accuse Carlos Ghosn of 'cowardly act' after flight to Lebanon
Papers unite to criticise former Nissan chairman, saying he had ‘lost the opportunity to prove his
innocence’
The usually staid Japanese media has criticised Carlos Ghosn after the tycoon jumped bail and fled to Lebanon – reportedly inside a musical instrument case – to avoid what he called “political persecution” in Japan.
“Running away is a cowardly act that mocks Japan’s justice system,” said the Yomiuri Shimbun, with Ghosn facing multiple charges of financial misconduct – all of which he denies.
By leaving the country, Ghosn has “lost the opportunity to prove his innocence and vindicate his honour”, the paper added, noting that the court, his defence lawyers and immigration control officials also bore some responsibility in the affair.
The liberal Tokyo Shimbun also said Ghosn’s actions had made a mockery of the Japanese justice system. “The defendant Ghosn insists he escaped political persecution ... but travelling abroad without permission is against the conditions of his bail, and mocks the Japanese justice system,” the paper wrote.
“There is a high probability that the trial will not be held, and his argument that he wants to prove his innocence is now in question.”
Some media noted that the decision to give him bail – seen by some as unusual at the time – now looked unwise.
Prosecutors had argued at the time that he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself had said he wanted to be tried to prove his innocence.
One of his defence lawyers at the time said he was such a famous face that there was no chance he would be able to slip away undetected.
The conservative Sankei Shimbun noted that prosecutors believed the court had yielded to “foreign pressure” by offering him bail, amid widespread criticism in the global media of Japan’s “hostage justice system” that allows for lengthy and repeated detention.
In December 2018, the court declined the prosecution’s request to extend Ghosn’s detention by 10 days – a surprising decision because the extension is usually almost automatic.
Ghosn was bailed twice, once in March and a second time after he was re-arrested in April. “All of these were rare decisions,” said the Sankei.
The centre-left Mainichi Shimbun quoted a senior prosecutor as saying: “This is what we predicted.” “This has ruined the prosecutors’ painstaking work” of collecting evidence in Japan and abroad.
The Asahi Shimbun also quoted a former Nissan executive voicing his disappointment at Ghosn’s actions. “My jaw hit the floor. I can’t find the words to express myself.”
Papers unite to criticise former Nissan chairman, saying he had ‘lost the opportunity to prove his
innocence’
The usually staid Japanese media has criticised Carlos Ghosn after the tycoon jumped bail and fled to Lebanon – reportedly inside a musical instrument case – to avoid what he called “political persecution” in Japan.
“Running away is a cowardly act that mocks Japan’s justice system,” said the Yomiuri Shimbun, with Ghosn facing multiple charges of financial misconduct – all of which he denies.
By leaving the country, Ghosn has “lost the opportunity to prove his innocence and vindicate his honour”, the paper added, noting that the court, his defence lawyers and immigration control officials also bore some responsibility in the affair.
The liberal Tokyo Shimbun also said Ghosn’s actions had made a mockery of the Japanese justice system. “The defendant Ghosn insists he escaped political persecution ... but travelling abroad without permission is against the conditions of his bail, and mocks the Japanese justice system,” the paper wrote.
“There is a high probability that the trial will not be held, and his argument that he wants to prove his innocence is now in question.”
Some media noted that the decision to give him bail – seen by some as unusual at the time – now looked unwise.
Prosecutors had argued at the time that he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself had said he wanted to be tried to prove his innocence.
One of his defence lawyers at the time said he was such a famous face that there was no chance he would be able to slip away undetected.
The conservative Sankei Shimbun noted that prosecutors believed the court had yielded to “foreign pressure” by offering him bail, amid widespread criticism in the global media of Japan’s “hostage justice system” that allows for lengthy and repeated detention.
In December 2018, the court declined the prosecution’s request to extend Ghosn’s detention by 10 days – a surprising decision because the extension is usually almost automatic.
Ghosn was bailed twice, once in March and a second time after he was re-arrested in April. “All of these were rare decisions,” said the Sankei.
The centre-left Mainichi Shimbun quoted a senior prosecutor as saying: “This is what we predicted.” “This has ruined the prosecutors’ painstaking work” of collecting evidence in Japan and abroad.
The Asahi Shimbun also quoted a former Nissan executive voicing his disappointment at Ghosn’s actions. “My jaw hit the floor. I can’t find the words to express myself.”
Soup
Premium
Speculation emerged in the Lebanese media that the diminutive Mr Ghosn, thought to be around 5ft 7in, was wheeled out of the property in a box for 'a large musical instrument', such as a double bass or drum
Ghosn is said to have flown from Tokyo to Beirut via Istanbul in Turkey after being 'smuggled' out of his home in a musical instrument case
Ghosn is said to have flown from Tokyo to Beirut via Istanbul in Turkey after being 'smuggled' out of his home in a musical instrument case
CrunchSlaughtered
RPM Ruler
Like a boss. Like a Nissan boss.
TheNewBATMAN
Quattro Commander
What's that again?
martinbo
Staff member
Well, one way or another the case proved instrumental.
TheNewBATMAN
Quattro Commander
SCOTT27
Drift Dynamo
Yes I am sure the the authorities will be Nissan him.
hoffmeister_fan
Kraftwagen König
I've read that there's some speculation that with upcoming Olympics, there are some in the power circles of Japan that relieved that now not having an open trial of this magnitude is actually considered a plus. That way other dirt and other widespread questionable/unethical/unlawful practices of the Japanese elite may not come out into the open as to not mar the international pomp and prestige of the Summer Games. How much truth there is in that theory, I'll defer to more learned, better connected individuals. Anyhow, I imagine those folks and the IOC are trading tips on how to skim from here, there, and anywhere ever else they can get their grubby mitts on.
Soup
Premium
Japan issues Interpol wanted notice for Carlos Ghosn
Move follows tycoon’s dramatic flight to Beirut to escape corruption charges
Japanese authorities have issued an Interpol wanted notice for Carlos Ghosn, as the former Nissan and Renault chairman released a statement denying his wife or family were involved in his dramatic flight from corruption charges in Japan.
The international policing organisation’s “red notice” alerts forces around the world that a person is wanted, in this case by Japanese police.
Interpol does not have any powers to force its members to comply with a red notice and it is not an arrest warrant, but it could impede Ghosn’s international travel if other countries sought to enforce it. Lebanon’s justice minister confirmed the notice had been received in an interview with Associated Press.
Ghosn on Tuesday revealed he had arrived in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, after complaining he had been “held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system”.
The details of the escape remain unclear but Ghosn issued a statement on Thursday denying his wife, Carole, or other family members had any involvement in the plot, which could place participants in legal peril. Speculation that they were involved “is inaccurate and false”, Ghosn said. “I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever.”
His flight has sparked multiple investigations into how the former corporate titan evaded supervision to leave Japan on a private jet, stop briefly at Turkey’s Atatürk airport and then fly to Beirut.
Officials from the Tokyo district public prosecutors office raided Ghosn’s former residence in Tokyo on Thursday to look for evidence.
In Turkey, seven people were arrested on Thursday as part of investigations. The state-run Anadolu Agency said the people, who are suspected of aiding Ghosn, included four pilots, two ground handling employees and the operations manager of a private cargo company.
The arrest of Ghosn in Lebanon is considered unlikely, given his political connections in Lebanon, one of three countries which have previously granted him a passport, along with Brazil and France. Ghosn was born in Brazil to Lebanese parents and studied in France before leading tyre manufacturer Michelin and carmaker Renault.
Lebanon has already indicated Ghosn entered the country legally using a French passport and Lebanese ID. Ghosn’s arrival in Beirut’s Rafic Hariri airport was aided by Lebanese state officials who were instructed by political leaders to smooth his arrival, the Guardian previously reported.
Ghosn made his reputation as executive first of Renault, before becoming the architect of an alliance with Nissan and later Mitsubishi that was the world’s second largest carmaker in 2018, with 10.76m vehicles sold.
However, his corporate downfall came in November 2018, when he was arrested in Tokyo on charges of underreporting his income by $80m (£60.7m). He was also accused of using Nissan company property for personal gain. Ghosn paid a $1m fine in September to settle similar fraud charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
He had been the subject of 24-hour surveillance in a court-mandated residence in Tokyo since being granted bail in April 2019. Tokyo authorities have revoked Ghosn’s bail, Japanese media reported, meaning he will forfeit ¥1.5bn (£10.3m).
According to Reuters, Ghosn decided to flee Japan after learning his trial had been delayed until April 2021 and also because he had not been allowed to speak to his wife over Christmas.
He is also said to have been unnerved by news that his daughter and son had been questioned by Japanese prosecutors in the US in early December. Ghosn was convinced authorities were looking to force a confession from him by putting pressure on his family.
The Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday that Ghosn had been issued with a spare French passport, which he had been allowed to carry with him in a locked briefcase while out on bail. According to NHK, the key to the locked briefcase was held by Ghosn’s lawyers.
Ghosn’s representatives have so far declined to give details of how he made a dramatic escape that would have almost certainly required the help of multiple people, as well as considerable financial resources. He has pledged to hold a press conference next week.
Despite the red notice, the 65-year-old is unlikely to face extradition from Lebanon, which does not have a treaty with Japan. The French government also indicated on Thursday it would not send him to Japan.
“If Mr Ghosn arrived in France, we will not extradite Mr Ghosn because France never extradites its nationals,” the junior economy minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, told France’s BFM news channel.
France would “apply the same rules to Mr Ghosn as to the man in the street”, she said.
However, Ghosn’s status as head of major carmakers in Japan and France allowed him to call upon connections unavailable to most people. The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy met him in Tokyo as recently as October, while Lebanon authorities had been pressing for Ghosn to face trial in their country, where he would probably face a friendlier justice system.
Move follows tycoon’s dramatic flight to Beirut to escape corruption charges
Japanese authorities have issued an Interpol wanted notice for Carlos Ghosn, as the former Nissan and Renault chairman released a statement denying his wife or family were involved in his dramatic flight from corruption charges in Japan.
The international policing organisation’s “red notice” alerts forces around the world that a person is wanted, in this case by Japanese police.
Interpol does not have any powers to force its members to comply with a red notice and it is not an arrest warrant, but it could impede Ghosn’s international travel if other countries sought to enforce it. Lebanon’s justice minister confirmed the notice had been received in an interview with Associated Press.
Ghosn on Tuesday revealed he had arrived in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, after complaining he had been “held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system”.
The details of the escape remain unclear but Ghosn issued a statement on Thursday denying his wife, Carole, or other family members had any involvement in the plot, which could place participants in legal peril. Speculation that they were involved “is inaccurate and false”, Ghosn said. “I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever.”
His flight has sparked multiple investigations into how the former corporate titan evaded supervision to leave Japan on a private jet, stop briefly at Turkey’s Atatürk airport and then fly to Beirut.
Officials from the Tokyo district public prosecutors office raided Ghosn’s former residence in Tokyo on Thursday to look for evidence.
In Turkey, seven people were arrested on Thursday as part of investigations. The state-run Anadolu Agency said the people, who are suspected of aiding Ghosn, included four pilots, two ground handling employees and the operations manager of a private cargo company.
The arrest of Ghosn in Lebanon is considered unlikely, given his political connections in Lebanon, one of three countries which have previously granted him a passport, along with Brazil and France. Ghosn was born in Brazil to Lebanese parents and studied in France before leading tyre manufacturer Michelin and carmaker Renault.
Lebanon has already indicated Ghosn entered the country legally using a French passport and Lebanese ID. Ghosn’s arrival in Beirut’s Rafic Hariri airport was aided by Lebanese state officials who were instructed by political leaders to smooth his arrival, the Guardian previously reported.
Ghosn made his reputation as executive first of Renault, before becoming the architect of an alliance with Nissan and later Mitsubishi that was the world’s second largest carmaker in 2018, with 10.76m vehicles sold.
However, his corporate downfall came in November 2018, when he was arrested in Tokyo on charges of underreporting his income by $80m (£60.7m). He was also accused of using Nissan company property for personal gain. Ghosn paid a $1m fine in September to settle similar fraud charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
He had been the subject of 24-hour surveillance in a court-mandated residence in Tokyo since being granted bail in April 2019. Tokyo authorities have revoked Ghosn’s bail, Japanese media reported, meaning he will forfeit ¥1.5bn (£10.3m).
According to Reuters, Ghosn decided to flee Japan after learning his trial had been delayed until April 2021 and also because he had not been allowed to speak to his wife over Christmas.
He is also said to have been unnerved by news that his daughter and son had been questioned by Japanese prosecutors in the US in early December. Ghosn was convinced authorities were looking to force a confession from him by putting pressure on his family.
The Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday that Ghosn had been issued with a spare French passport, which he had been allowed to carry with him in a locked briefcase while out on bail. According to NHK, the key to the locked briefcase was held by Ghosn’s lawyers.
Ghosn’s representatives have so far declined to give details of how he made a dramatic escape that would have almost certainly required the help of multiple people, as well as considerable financial resources. He has pledged to hold a press conference next week.
Despite the red notice, the 65-year-old is unlikely to face extradition from Lebanon, which does not have a treaty with Japan. The French government also indicated on Thursday it would not send him to Japan.
“If Mr Ghosn arrived in France, we will not extradite Mr Ghosn because France never extradites its nationals,” the junior economy minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, told France’s BFM news channel.
France would “apply the same rules to Mr Ghosn as to the man in the street”, she said.
However, Ghosn’s status as head of major carmakers in Japan and France allowed him to call upon connections unavailable to most people. The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy met him in Tokyo as recently as October, while Lebanon authorities had been pressing for Ghosn to face trial in their country, where he would probably face a friendlier justice system.
tristatez28lt1
Tire Trailblazer
Once he starts talking (and with the intention of harming Nissan) he could destroy the execs at Nissan...he has so much dirt on everyone I would be scared. Kind of like Hoover at the FBI.
This is not true. My cousin who is French was extradited for judgement and jail to Romania. That is because all countries of the EU have signed billateral agreements on extraditions. France has also signed such agreements with other countries such as the US for example. However there is no agreement between France and Japan, thus Goshn would indeed not be extradited to Japan either.
One must not forget that extraditions are diplomatic exchanges, in other words one bad for another bad.
sako97
Autotechnik Ace
CrunchSlaughtered
RPM Ruler
I hope he stays alive
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
There are no guarantees that France won't extradite him to Japan.
Furthermore no French corporation cable of paying his salary remands would be willing to hire a fugitive. He's better off remaining in Lebanon.
