Carlos Gone: From Famed Chairman to a Fugitive
Former Renault Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan after learning that his trial had been delayed until April 2021 is the talk of the town. It is still unclear how Ghosn fled from Japan despite the tight surveillance and showed up in Lebanon.
It all started 14 months ago, when Ghosn was arrested on the charges of under-reporting his salary, falsification of documents to diverting millions of dollars from Nissan for his personal use.
One of the best known figures in the car industry is now labeled a 'Fugitive' by Interpol. Here is a rundown of the events from his sudden arrest 14 months ago, which marked his downfall, to his cinematic escape this week!
Carlos Ghosn was arrested by Japanese police authorities at Tokyo Airport for allegedly under-reporting his salary by roughly half for more than five years, till March 2015.
Nissan and Mitsubishi sacks Ghosn as chairman. Ghosn, through his lawyer Otsuru, denies media reports that he passed on personal trading losses to Nissan, saying they will apply for bail.
Tokyo prosecutors indicted Ghosn for allegedly under-reporting his income. They also re-arrested him on allegations of understating his income for three more years till March 2018.
Ghosn turned up for his trial in handcuffs and a rope around his waist, wearing a navy suit and white shirt without a tie, and looking thinner than before his arrest.
Ghosn declared his innocence in his first public appearance since his arrest in November 2018, telling a Tokyo court that he had been wrongly accused, terming the financial misconduct charges as “meritless”.
French President Emmanuel Macron tells Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Ghosn's detention is "too long and too hard."
Ghosn accuses Nissan executives of a plot to oust him and prevent closer ties with Renault, in his first interview since his arrest in November.
Surrounded by security guards and dressed in a workman’s uniform and a blue cap, Ghosn, who had been detained for more than 100 days, left a Tokyo prison on a $9 million bail, slipping past reporters in a face mask.
Japanese prosecutors arrested Ghosn for fourth time in a year alleging the ousted Nissan boss has tried to enrich his himself at the company's expense.
Ghosn lawyers said that it was an attempt to muzzle him.
Ghosn was freed on bail for a second time but with strict conditions -- including a ban on overseas travel and living under surveillance as he awaited trial on financial misconduct charges.
Japanese authorities raid Carlos Ghosn’s Tokyo residence as part of an investigation into his escape. Fugitive former Nissan boss was caught on a security camera leaving his Tokyo home by himself on the day he is thought to have fled to avoid a Japanese trial. He was not seen returning home after leaving around noon.
Ghosn issued a statement that he had arrived in Lebanon to escape a “rigged” justice system in Japan, raising questions about how one of the world’s most-recognised executives had slipped away while on bail.
He was quoted saying that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid "political persecution." He said he would talk to reporters next week.
Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest in the wake of him fleeing Japan, while Turkey announced it was holding seven individuals in connection with his escape.
The family of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn or his wife, played no role in his escape from Japan, Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday, days after his abrupt arrival in Beirut from Tokyo.
It still remains a mystery, how Ghosn, who has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was able to orchestrate his departure from Japan. He had been under strict surveillance by authorities while out on bail and had surrendered his passports.
Media report suggests that he had fled his court-approved residence in Tokyo with the assistance of a paramilitary group who were disguised amongst a band of musicians.
It said the band had performed at his house and, shortly after they had finished, the 65-year-old hid in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport.
According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. Others say hehas used his French passports, which he was allowed to keep locked.
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