1 January 2019
Carlos Ghosn (in picture above) was the CEO of Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault before his arrest in November 2018. He pulled all three companies mired in losses and brought them to profitability. After his arrest during the past three years the three alliance partners have lost a combined $18 billion in market capitalization. Nissan has announced plans to cut down the workforce by 12,500. Whatever good he may have done to the automobile industry, he is not above the laws of any country.
Carlos Ghosn (in picture above) was the CEO of Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault before his arrest in November 2018. He pulled all three companies mired in losses and brought them to profitability. After his arrest during the past three years the three alliance partners have lost a combined $18 billion in market capitalization. Nissan has announced plans to cut down the workforce by 12,500. Whatever good he may have done to the automobile industry, he is not above the laws of any country.
His charges include breach of trust, understating his income, transferring personal financial losses to Nissan and misappropriating money for personal use from a company business partner in Oman.
On Tuesday, Ghosn confirmed he had left Japan. His lawyer said that he was dumbfounded by the news that Ghosn has fled to Lebanon after jumping bail in Japan. He was released on $9 Million bail in March 2019. His bail terms included ban on travel outside Tokyo, accessing internet, contacting Nissan managers. His defence lawyer kept all his three passports (French, Brazilian and Lebanese) to prevent him from jumping bail. The Wall Street Journal said Ghosn made it to Lebanon via Turkey. It is surprising how he escaped. It was speculated that he was hidden in a musical instruments box which was flown out. It was also said that he escaped with a false passport. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. French daily Le Monde said Ghosn’s wife, Carole, organized the escape with the help of her brothers and their contacts in Turkey. After leaving Tokyo, Ghosn took a private jet from a small airport in Japan to Turkey, and from there entered Lebanon with an ID card, landing in Beirut with Carole. Lebanon’s General Security Directorate said that Ghosn entered the country legally and that there was no reason to take legal proceedings against him, state news agency NNA reported.
He was arrested in November 2018. The prosecutors should have had a speedy trial. Japanese courts refused to allow them to see his wife over the Christmas holiday. He was under the impression that his trial was going to be pushed back a year, leaving him trapped in limbo. His long detention and interrogation without the presence of his lawyers made him wanting to escape from Japan. Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan resembles that of other famous white-collar fugitives in recent years, like Malaysian businessman Jho Low and Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya.
