French judges question fugitive former Nissan exec Carlos Ghosn in Beirut
French investigating judges questioned the high-flying auto executive-turned-international fugitive Carlos Ghosn for several hours in Beirut on Monday.
Ghosn, who simultaneously led three automakers as part of
the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, has been fighting multiple probes since
fleeing Japan in late 2019 in a daring escape that allegedly involved an
ex-special forces soldier who helped Ghosn hide in a music equipment box.
Ghosn hopes to clear his name in the multiple legal
challenges against him in France, his legal team told reporters Monday.
“It is the very first time that our client can explain
himself in front of the judges with his lawyers sitting next to him and after
preparing his defense,” Jean Tamalet, one of Ghosn’s lawyers, told reporters,
according to Reuters. “It is the very first time of justice for Carlos Ghosn
since he was arbitrarily arrested in Japan.”
Ghosn has not been charged in France, but has faced
accusations of fraud, corruption, money laundering, misuse of company assets
and aggravated breach of trust, the Associated Press reported.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on accusations
of under-reporting his salary and using company funds for personal purposes. He
fled to Lebanon, where Ghosn was born and has citizenship, a year later in a stunning
escape. Several of his associates, however, remain in jail or on trial in cases
related to his financial activities or escape.
Ghosn has maintained his innocence and said he lost faith in
the Japanese legal system’s treatment of foreigners.
The focus of French investigators in Lebanon is lavish
parties Ghosn threw at the Versailles Palace, which even included period
costumes, when he was the head of the Renault-Nissan car alliance, the AP
report said. They’re also examining millions in spending on private planes and
events arranged by a Dutch holding company, and subsidies to a car dealership
in Oman, according to the AP.
In a wide-ranging interview last week, Ghosn again defended
himself and told the AP that he was the victim of a corporate coup attempting
to oust him due to a drop in Nissan’s financial performance as the Japanese
automaker resisted losing autonomy to French partner Renault.
Ghosn has previously fingered former Nissan CEO Hiroto
Saikawa, who resigned in the year after Ghosn’s arrest, and Hari Nada, a former
senior vice president, among others as involved in the alleged conspiracy.
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