Japan issues arrest warrant for Ghosn's wife, looks for ways to bring
him back
Send a link to a friend
[January 07, 2020]
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo prosecutors
on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn's wife Carole for
allegedly lying in testimony, as officials sought ways to bring the
fugitive car industry boss back for trial on financial misconduct
charges.
The perjury arrest warrant accuses Carole Ghosn of falsely claiming not
to know, or to have met, people connected to a company that received
payments from Nissan Motor, part of which it subsequently transferred to
a firm owned by Ghosn.
Separately, a senior Ministry of Justice official said staff were poring
over Lebanese laws to find a way to return Ghosn and that Japan "will do
whatever it can" to have him face trial.
The former Nissan and Renault SA chairman is scheduled to hold a news
conference on Wednesday, his first such appearance since his arrest in
November 2018 and his dramatic flight last month to Lebanon, his
childhood home..

"Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got
re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out
freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife
Carole Ghosn," a spokeswoman for Ghosn told Reuters in Beirut.
CLAIMS
Ghosn is expected to detail some of the claims he has made against
Nissan since his arrest.
Citing an interview with Ghosn, Fox Business reported that he said he
has "actual evidence" and documents to show there was a Japanese
government-backed coup to "take him out". He plans to identify those he
believes responsible, the broadcaster said.
In earlier court filings seen by Reuters and statements released by his
lawyers in Japan, Ghosn has claimed that he was unseated to destroy any
possibility of a merger between Nissan and Renault, accusing Nissan
executives of colluding with Japanese prosecutors and Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry officials.
[to top of second column]
|

Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn sits inside a car as he
leaves his lawyer's office after being released on bail from Tokyo
Detention House, in Tokyo, Japan, March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Issei
Kato/File Photo

Ghosn's legal team in Japan also said prosecutors withheld evidence,
citing concerns voiced by Nissan that it included sensitive
information about operations and employees.
Nissan said Ghosn's flight from Japan would not affect its policy of
holding him responsible for "serious misconduct".
"The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold
Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to
Nissan," the automaker said in a statement.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, on Tuesday,
described Ghosn's escape to Beirut as "regrettable" and said Tokyo
had asked Lebanon for help, although he declined to say what exactly
Japan had asked of Lebanon.
"It's necessary to carefully consider the legal systems of both
countries," he told a news conference,
Lebanon does not normally extradite its citizens.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Makiko Yamazaki, Chang-Ran Kim, Chris
Gallagher, David Dolan, Junko Fujita and Sam Nussey in Tokyo,
Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Beirut; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam, Christopher Cushing and Giles Elgood)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |