Interpol issued an arrest warrant to Lebanon for former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn, who jumped bail in Japan as he awaited trial on charges of financial wrongdoing.
Ghosn, who was under the close watch of Japanese authorities, was smuggled out of his home in the country in a box meant for transporting musical instruments. He arrived in Lebanon on a private jet from Turkey.
Lebanon’s internal security forces received the arrest warrant Thursday, but it has yet to be referred to the judiciary, according to Reuters.
Ghosn, 65, is a Lebanese citizen, where he is legally protected from extradition, as well as a citizen of France and Brazil. He has maintained his innocence and has been in and out of jail since his first arrest in November 2018. He was set to stand trial in 2020.
“I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan’s legal obligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold,” Ghosn said in a statement earlier this week.
“I have not fled justice — I have escaped injustice and political persecution,” the statement said. “I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week.”
Sources close to the former Nissan boss said Japan banning Ghosn from communicating with his wife prompted him to hire a private security company to smuggle him out of the country.
