Japan tries to solve the mystery of Carlos Ghosn's audacious escape - CNN

Japanese media reported that Tokyo district prosecutors entered the property on Thursday. CNN affiliate TV Asahi also reported that prosecutors were working with police to access CCTV video around his home as part of their investigation.

Ghosn — the former chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and former chairman and CEO of their alliance partner, Renault — had been awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial wrongdoing, including allegations that he understated his income for years and funneled $5 million of Nissan's money to a car dealership he controlled. He was ousted from his posts at Nissan (NSANF) and Mitsubishi Motors following his arrest in November 2018, and later resigned from Renault (RNLSY).

As a condition of being released on bail, Ghosn was required to stay in Japan. But his case was completely upended earlier this week after Ghosn revealed that he had fled Japan for Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system.

It is still not clear how Ghosn, who is a citizen of France, Brazil and Lebanon, was able to slip out of Japan. Reuters and the Financial Times have reported that he was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company -— a plot that the media organizations say took months to concoct.

Turkish state media reported Thursday that seven people have been detained in Istanbul on suspicion of helping Ghosn flee to Lebanon. Anadolu news agency said that Ghosn traveled via the city's Ataturk airport, where police detained four pilots of a private airline, two ground staff and the director of a cargo company. Flight tracker Flightradar24 showed a private jet flying from Osaka, Japan, to Istanbul and then another continuing to Lebanon at the time Ghosn is said to have arrived in the country.

CNN Business has been unable to verify the circumstances behind his departure, and Ghosn did not elaborate on his escape in his public statement earlier this week.

Japan's justice ministry, the Tokyo prosecutor's office and the city's district court have not responded to requests from CNN Business this week for comment about Ghosn's escape. Government offices are closed this week for the New Year holiday.

Legal experts and political analysts say that Japan is probably trying to figure out whether Ghosn violated immigration law when he left the country — not that there's much of a chance of forcing him to return.

Prosecutors in Tokyo are now likely retracing Ghosn's moves through Japan, collecting surveillance footage and searching for potential collaborators said Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor who now runs a compliance and law office in Japan.

Gohara added that Ghosn's trial is almost certainly now canceled. The bigger question, he said, is how Japanese authorities will respond to Ghosn's attacks on them, now that he is able to speak freely about his detention.

Ghosn has repeatedly denied the charges against him, and claimed that his arrest was part of a plot to remove him from the automotive empire he built. In his statement this week, he said he would "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied."

Japan can't force Lebanon to send Ghosn back, said Keith Henry, the founder and representative director of Asia Strategy, a research and policy firm based in Tokyo. The two countries have no extradition agreement.

"It is a bigger deal for [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe and Japan than for Ghosn," Henry said. "No matter what they do now, it is very difficult to overcome the embarrassment of letting go one of the most high-profile suspects" of corporate scandal since Japan's economic boom that followed World War II.

— CNN's Isil Sariyuce in Istanbul contributed to this article.

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2020-01-02 10:29:00Z
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Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn reportedly carried spare French passport while on bail in Japan - CNBC

Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Marlene Awaad | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Japanese authorities allowed ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed a dramatic escape to Lebanon.

Prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo residence of the former Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman, NHK also reported.

Ghosn, one of the world's best-known executives, has become Japan's most famous fugitive after he revealed on Tuesday he had fled to Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system.

The businessman, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three months, Reuters has reported.

Ghosn was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and faces four charges — which he denies — including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to car dealerships in the Middle East. He enjoyed an outpouring of support from Lebanon after his arrest.

Japanese authorities have not officially commented on Ghosn's disappearance. Government offices are shut this week for the New Year holiday.

Officials in Lebanon said Ghosn entered legally on a French passport. But one of Ghosn's Japanese lawyers has said the lawyers were still in possession of all three of his passports, under the terms of his bail.

However, Ghosn had been issued a spare French passport, NHK said, citing unidentified sources, and carried it in the months before his departure.

NHK, citing the sources, said he had been "obliged" to carry the passport with him since May, without elaborating on the reason. Foreigners in Japan are required to carry government-issued identification cards or passports at all times.

NHK said his lawyers applied to have the terms of his bail changed so that he could carry a passport in a locked case.

The key to the locked case in which the spare passport was kept was held by his lawyers, NHK said.

No one was immediately available for comment at the office of his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, the French embassy in Tokyo, or at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.

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2020-01-02 06:31:00Z
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Carlos Ghosn: How did the Nissan ex-boss flee from Japan? - BBC News

He was once a titan of the car industry who held hero status in Japan. He then became one of the country's most well-known criminal suspects. Now he's an international fugitive.

Carlos Ghosn, the multi-millionaire former boss of Nissan, had spent months preparing to stand trial on financial misconduct charges. At least, that was what the Japanese authorities were led to believe.

He posted 1bn yen (£6.8m; $8.9m) in bail in April. He was monitored by a 24-hour camera installed outside his house. His use of technology was heavily restricted and he was banned from travelling abroad.

Then, in a move that left Japan red-faced and his own legal team baffled, he appeared in Lebanon on New Year's Eve. "I have escaped injustice and political persecution," he declared in a statement.

"We were completely caught by surprise. I am dumbfounded," his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told a crowd of reporters in Tokyo shortly after learning of Mr Ghosn's flight. "I want to ask him, 'How could you do this to us?'"

Another pressing question is: how did he do it at all?

A musical escape?

One Lebanese TV channel - MTV - reported that Mr Ghosn 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 himself in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport. If this really happened, it may have been a tight squeeze even for Mr Ghosn, whose height is reported at 5ft 6in (167cm).

According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. The broadcaster provided no proof for this theory which, unsurprisingly, spread rapidly across social media.

But donning a spy-movie disguise is not beyond Mr Ghosn. In March, in a bid to throw journalists off his scent, he left prison disguised as a construction worker. He was quickly identified, mocked in the media, and his lawyer soon apologised for the "amateur plan".

The role of Carole Ghosn

The former CEO's getaway from Tokyo to Beirut was meticulously planned over a period of several weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper, which cited a number of unidentified sources, said a team was carefully assembled to carry out the plot. The group reportedly included accomplices in Japan who transported Mr Ghosn from his house and onto a private jet bound for Istanbul. From there, he continued his journey to Beirut where he arrived in the early hours of 30 December.

The plane tracking site FlightRadar24 showed a a Bombardier Challenger private jet arriving at Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport shortly after 04:00 local time. Mr Ghosn then met his wife Carole, who was born in the city and was heavily involved in the operation, the Wall Street Journal says.

Several reports have said Carole Ghosn was a major figure behind the plan for her husband to skip bail and get out of Japan. She spoke with him for more than an hour on 24 December, Mr Ghosn's Japanese lawyer said. The couple had previously been banned from meeting or communicating under Mr Ghosn's strict bail conditions.

After he arrived in Lebanon, Mrs Ghosn told the Wall Street Journal that their reunion was "the best gift of my life". She has not commented on her alleged involvement in the operation.

Earlier this year she told the BBC: "I want my husband back. I want him with me. I know he is innocent."

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Carlos Ghosn grew up in Lebanon, owns property there and is a popular figure. He even appeared on one of the country's postage stamps.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Three passports

Questions remain about the documents Mr Ghosn used to enter Lebanon. He holds three passports - Brazilian, French and Lebanese - but his legal team maintain that they were in possession of all of them when he left Japan. It is not known whether Mr Ghosn was holding duplicate passports - as businesspeople are sometimes allowed to do.

While the French newspaper Le Monde said he travelled on an ID card, others have reported that he used a French passport or a false identity with forged documents. Lebanon's foreign ministry insisted that he entered the country legally.

The embarrassment caused by Mr Ghosn's flight soon sparked a reaction from Japan. One Japanese politician asked whether he "had the support of some country". A former governor of Tokyo was more forthright, accusing Lebanon of direct involvement.

"The government has nothing to do with [Mr Ghosn's] decision to come," Lebanese minister Salim Jreissati was quoted as saying by the New York Times. "We don't know the circumstances of his arrival."

There is no extradition deal between Japan and Lebanon, which means the future of Mr Ghosn's trial is now fraught with uncertainty.

Japan gives millions in aid to Lebanon and will likely want Mr Ghosn returned. But it will no doubt have to answer further questions about how such a high-profile suspect was able to get out of the country in the first place.

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2020-01-01 13:01:05Z
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Here's what's open and closed New Years Day - CNN

Here's what's open and closed on New Years Day. Hours vary by location and some places close early for the holiday, so it's best to call ahead to check.

Target -- Open regular hours

Walmart -- Open regular hours

Kroger-- Open regular hours

Publix -- Open, but many stores have limited hours

Whole Foods -- Open, but many stores have limited hours

Movie theaters -- Open regular hours

Zoos -- Open regular hours

Malls -- Most malls and department stores are open. Call your local stores to check.

Trader Joe's -- Closed

Costco -- Closed

Aldi -- Closed

Government-run locations, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and public libraries, are most likely going to be closed.

The US Postal Service will not deliver mail Wednesday, and US post offices are closed as well. FedEx and UPS will also be closed.

Banks are generally closed, although ATMs are always available.

If you plan to visit a museum, call to make sure they aren't closed. Not every museum is open on New Year's Day.

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2020-01-01 11:48:00Z
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Ghosn flight prompts talk of more curbs in Japan's strict justice system - Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Carlos Ghosn’s daring flight from Japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing, has revived global criticism of the nation’s “hostage justice,” but in Japan is prompting talk of reversing more lenient curbs on defendants.

FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chariman Carlos Ghosn leaves the Tokyo Detention House in Tokyo, Japan April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The ousted boss of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co and France’s Renault SA fled to Lebanon, saying on Tuesday that he had “escaped injustice” and would “no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system.”

Ghosn was first arrested in November 2018 when his private jet landed in Tokyo and kept in jail for more than 100 days as prosecutors added more charges, all of which he has denied. He was released on $9 million bail in March - only to be arrested and bailed again the following month.

He was facing four charges, including underreporting his Nissan salary and transferring personal financial losses to his employer’s books while he ran Japan’s No. 2 automaker.

His apparent escape from Japan’s legal system - Tokyo and Lebanon don’t have an extradition treaty - will likely halt or even reverse a trend of recent years toward granting bail in more cases, said Colin Jones, a law professor at Doshisha Law School in Kyoto.

“I would expect it to be more difficult for foreign defendants to get bail,” Jones said.

In Japan, suspects who deny the charges against them are often detained for long periods and subject to intense questioning without a lawyer present, a system critics call “hostage justice.”

Japanese civil rights groups and the main bar lawyers association have long criticized a system that convicts 99.9% of criminal defendants. They say it gives too much power to prosecutors, who can detain suspects for long periods before indictment, and relies too much on confessions, some later found to have been forced and false.

Ghosn’s escape is clearly a shock to Japan’s legal establishment.

“This case raises the extremely serious issue of whether it’s all right to continue the trend toward bail leniency,” said former prosecutor Yasuyuki Takai.

“The legal profession and lawmakers need to quickly consider new legal measures or a system to prevent such escapes,” Takai, who was formerly with the special investigation unit of the prosecutor’s office, told public broadcaster NHK.

“Until the way to achieving this is in sight, we should carefully consider temporarily halting this trend toward bail leniency.”

The Tokyo District Court granted Ghosn bail over the objection of prosecutors because of his lawyer’s assurances that the former executive would observe his unusually strict bail conditions - which included surrendering his passports, barring him from seeing his wife Carole or using the internet outside his lawyers’ office.

“But this trust was betrayed and even this high bail didn’t prevent him from fleeing the country,” Takai said.

Tokyo-based lawyer Stephen Givens said Japan’s political right is using Ghosn’s flight to say, “See, we caved in to Western demands and look what happened.”

Still, Givens said the Ghosn case likely won’t reverse the recent trend of greater willingness to grant bail, as Japan was becoming more sensitive to foreign criticism.

The bold escape “may provide grounds for a backlash but only in very unusual cases,” he said.

Reporting by Linda Sieg; Additional reporting by Tim Kelly; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Neil Fullick

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-01-01 08:50:00Z
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Surveillance in a leafy enclave, Ghosn's Tokyo life was under strict monitoring - Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - The imposing home where Carlos Ghosn lived for the last seven months and probably launched a daring escape to avoid Japanese prosecutors is nestled in a leafy enclave of Tokyo where most people pay little attention to Westerners or luxury cars.

A view of a house where is believed that former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn lived before he fled to Lebanon, in Tokyo, Japan January 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tim Kelly

Yet neighbors say it was impossible not to notice one of the world’s most famous executives, or the black car that seemed to idle nearby whenever he was around - a stark reminder of the surveillance on the ousted Nissan Motor Co chairman while out on bail for financial misconduct charges.

Ghosn on Tuesday said he had fled to Lebanon to escape a “rigged” justice system in Japan, an astonishing revelation that raises questions about how one of the world’s most-recognized businessmen slipped past authorities, especially after he had surrendered his passports under the terms of his bail.

Hana Takeda, who lives in an apartment close to the house where Ghosn has lived since May, said she would sometimes see him out walking with one of his three daughters.

“He wasn’t very secretive. I would see him hanging around with his daughter,” Takeda, 28, told Reuters.

The large, multi-level house is not far from the central Roppongi district in an area popular with diplomats and western executives.

There is a police presence because of the proximity of at least one embassy and houses for diplomats. Many homes had western luxury cars parked outside, including BMWs, Land Rovers and Bentleys.

Three wireless security cameras peered out from the balcony above the brick porch. Under the terms of his bail, Ghosn had to have cameras installed at the house’s entrance.

No one came to the door when a Reuters reporter rang the doorbell. A double garage was shut and net curtains were drawn across the windows. Upper floor windows were covered by blinds.

A policeman on a bicycle made regular rounds through the small neighborhood.

Another neighbor, 62-year-old American Whitney Rich, said he had sometimes noticed a black car near the house.

Ghosn was initially arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and faces four charges, which he denies. They include hiding income and enriching himself through payments to Middle East dealerships.

It seems unlikely he will now stand trial in Tokyo as Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon.

AUDACIOUS ACCOUNT

It was unclear how Ghosn, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese citizenship, was able to orchestrate his departure from Japan. He entered Lebanon legally on a French passport, one source has told Reuters.

In one audacious account from Lebanese TV news channel MTV, which Reuters has not been able to verify, a group of musicians arrived at Ghosn’s Tokyo house, performed and then packed up their instruments with him inside one of the larger cases. He was then whisked to the airport and out of the country with the help of privately hired security.

What is clear is that Ghosn was tightly monitored - a fact that has made his escape all the more spectacular. Authorities had monitored and restricted his movement and communications to prevent him, they said, from fleeing or tampering with evidence.

There always seemed to be a car at the end of the street near Ghosn’s house, said one Western expat who had lived in the area for nine months.

Slideshow (2 Images)

“He kept a low profile... There was a car parked constantly nearby,” the expat said, declining to be identified.

“He was under constant surveillance.”

Reporting by Tim Kelly and Maki Shiraki; Writing by David Dolan

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-01-01 08:33:00Z
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‘Ghosn with the wind’: did ex-Nissan chief flee Japan in a box? - South China Morning Post

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1. ‘Ghosn with the wind’: did ex-Nissan chief flee Japan in a box?  South China Morning Post
2. How did Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan without any of his three passports?  CNN
3. No Signs of Ghosn at His Beirut Residence  Bloomberg Markets and Finance
4. The Carlos Ghosn Experience  Wall Street Journal
5. You Can’t Spell ‘Ghost on Japan’ Without ‘Ghosn’  Bloomberg
6. View full coverage on Google News

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2020-01-01 06:59:46Z
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