In 2019, Ghosn planned an ambitious escape, smuggling himself out of Japan in an audio equipment case on a private jet.
Carlos Ghosn, the car billionaire who escaped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon in a dramatic escape, has been given an international arrest order by France.
Prosecutors in the Paris suburb of Nanterre told AFP news agency on Friday that the order was issued over 15 million euros ($16.3 million) in suspected transfers between the Renault-Nissan alliance, which Ghosn once led, and an Omani business, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA).
Ghosn, the then-CEO of Nissan and the leader of a joint venture between Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi Motors, was detained in Japan in November 2018 along with his top aide, Greg Kelly, on suspicion of financial malfeasance.
Both of them denied any misconduct.
As he awaited trial in December 2019, Ghosn planned an audacious escape, smuggling himself out of Japan in an audio equipment case on a private jet.
Ghosn arrived in Beirut, which has no extradition pact with Japan, with French, Lebanese, and Brazilian passports.
He claimed he fled because he did not believe he would receive a fair trial in Japan, where prosecutors have a nearly 100% conviction rate in trials.
He further claimed Nissan conspired with prosecutors to get him arrested as he wanted to deepen the Japanese firm’s alliance with Renault.
Ghosn’s spokesperson stated later on Friday that the former Nissan CEO was “surprised” by reports of his international arrest warrant.
“This is astonishing,” a Ghosn representative told Reuters. “Ghosn has always cooperated with French authorities.”
The French order was “quite shocking because the investigating judge and the Nanterre prosecutor know perfectly well that Carlos Ghosn, who has always cooperated with court, is subject to a legal ban on leaving Lebanese territory,” one of his lawyers, Jean Tamalet, told AFP.
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The Nanterre court in charge of the investigation issued five arrest warrants, including one for Ghosn, as well as current and former SBA executives.
Last year, Ghosn stated that he was prepared for a protracted process with French authorities to cleanse his name, and that he would contest an Interpol warrant that prevents him from travelling outside of Lebanon.
A Turkish court jailed two pilots and a private airline official in February of last year for their roles in the escape.
Each of them was sentenced to four years and two months in jail by an Istanbul court. Two other pilots were found not guilty of “illegally smuggling a migrant.” In addition, two flight attendants were found not guilty of failing to report a crime.
