Ex-car boss
Carlos Ghosn: Japan prevents a fair trial
Carlos Ghosn saved the Japanese car company Nissan from the near bankruptcy and forged the alliance of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. Photo: Marwan Naamani / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Ex-manager Carlos Ghosn continues to see himself as an innocent victim of a conspiracy in Japan. He issues a certificate of poverty to the alliance he once forged between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Ex-car boss Carlos Ghosn continues to see himself as a “hostage” of the Japanese justice system after his spectacular escape from Japan to Lebanon.
Even after two years, Japan refuses to hand over the indictment against him to Lebanon so that he can face a fair trial, said Ghosn, who was connected online from Beirut, to members of the club of foreign correspondents in Tokyo on Monday. By maintaining the search request through the international police agency Interpol, the country is trying to “extend its hostage justice beyond Japan’s borders.” Japan is not about justice.
Ghosn had once saved the Japanese car company Nissan from the near bankruptcy and forged the alliance of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. On November 19, 2018, he and his former right-hand man, the American Greg Kelly, were arrested and charged in Tokyo, among other things, for violating stock market requirements. While Kelly stayed in Japan, Ghosn fled to Beirut in a private jet via Turkey, in violation of strict bail conditions. It was hidden in a box for musical instruments.
Lawsuit against Ghosn’s former right-hand man
Two Americans extradited to Japan who helped him escape were recently sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Tokyo. Kelly’s trial in Japan began around two years after his arrest without his former boss. He declared himself innocent. A verdict is expected in March. Ghosn has also repeatedly denied the allegations against him in Japan. He sees himself as the victim of a conspiracy in Japan to prevent Nissan from becoming closer to Renault.
Japan tried to be extradited – but it has no extradition agreement with Lebanon. The French judiciary is also investigating alleged embezzlement of funds at Renault by Ghosn. Ghosn had written a book about it with a French journalist. On the occasion of the publication of the Japanese-language edition, Ghosn spoke again to reporters in Tokyo and protested his innocence.
Ghosn described the current business results of Renault, Mitsubishi and Nissan as “pathetic”. All three corporations have suffered significant losses. Nissan had returned to profitability in the first half of the current fiscal year. But the corporations have not yet recovered on the stock market.
Despite a 43 percent stake in Nissan, Renault now has practically no influence on the Japanese car maker, said Ghosn. Nissan has “no vision” for the future. But the car manufacturer, whom he had saved from bankruptcy and led to success, is no longer of interest to him today. He only demanded that he be paid his pension entitlement and compensation, demanded Ghosn.