Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flees Japan, reaches Lebanon without passport
02 Jan 2020
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Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan Motors who is facing trial in Japan, has escaped the country and reached Lebanon, without a passport, say reports.
Ghosn is reported to have arrived in Lebanon on Monday from Turkey, bur how he reached Turkey from Japan is not yet clear. According to Lebanese media, Ghosn hid himself in a wooden box meant for storing musical instruments to be shipped out of Japan.
Carlos Ghosn, who grew up in Beirut, holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese passports and all three of them were seized by Japanese authorities. He was confined to Japan without his passports and how he managed to give them a slip and reach Lebanon is not yet known.
The former Nissan chairman was arrested by the Japanese authorities in November 2018 over financial misconduct at the company. Although Ghosn was granted bail in April 2019, he was kept under surveillance.
Ghosn surfaced in Beirut along with his Lebanese wife Carole Nahas Ghosn, probably using private transport – plane or ship - and hiding himself in a box for musical instrument to flee Japan.
According to reports, the 65-year-old first arrived in Turkey and then took a private plane to Lebanon. He met the Lebanese President upon his arrival and is reportedly staying in Beirut at present.
In a statement issued on Monday, Ghosn said: "I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan's legal obligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold."
"I have not fled justice - I have escaped injustice and political persecution. I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week," he added.
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