French prosecutors issue international arrest warrant for Ghosn
carlos ghosn
Frenchauthorities have issued aninternationalarrestwarrantfor disgraced former Nissan boss CarlosGhosn,prosecutorstold AFP on Friday.
Thewarrant, issued on Thursday, relates to suspect payments of some 15 million euros ($16.3 million) between the Renault-Nissan alliance thatGhosnonce headed and its dealer in Oman, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA),prosecutorssaid.
The allegations againstGhosn, 68, include misuse of company assets, money laundering and corruption.
The auto tycoon -- who holdsFrench, Lebanese and Brazilian passports -- was initially due to stand trial in Japan, following his detention there in 2018, but he jumped bail and made a sensational getaway to Lebanon, where he now lives.
Theinternationalarrestwarrantissued on Thursday by a court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, is a strong message to Lebanon, which does not extradite its citizens and has bannedGhosnfrom leaving its territory.
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If thewarrantis carried out,Ghosnwill be summoned before a judge in Nanterre and formally indicted.
TheFrenchprobe centres on suspectfinancial dealings between Renault-Nissan's Dutch subsidiary RNBV and SBA, consultancy work involving RNBV and a former government minister, and lavish parties organised at the Versailles Palace in France.
The investigating judge in Nanterre has also issuedarrestwarrants for four current or former SBA bosses -- the company founder, his two sons and the current director-general, sources close to the case told AFP. The four are suspected of corruption and money laundering.
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Major development
Renault, which is a civil party in the case, said it "took note" of the Nanterreprosecutors' move.
"This is a major development which can be explained in part by the severity of new information that has come to light ... concerning hidden financial dealings worth several million euros between CarlosGhosnand SBA's founders and bosses," Renault lawyer Kami Haeri told AFP.
TheGhosnsaga, which began in 2018, has grabbed headlines worldwide.
In November 2018,Ghosn-- then boss of Nissan and head of an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors -- was detained in Japan on suspicion of financial misconduct along with his top aide, Greg Kelly. They both denied wrongdoing.
In December 2019 as he awaited trial,Ghosnwas smuggled out of Japan on a private jet, hidden in an audio equipment case, and flown to Beirut.
He justified his escape to Lebanon by saying he did not believe he would get a fair trial in Tokyo.
Ghosnalso accused Nissan of colluding withprosecutorsto have him arrested in a "palace coup" because he had sought to strengthen the Japanese firm's alliance with Renault.
Stab in the back
In 2020 Interpol issued a "red notice", advising Beirut thatGhosnwas a fugitive from Japan and was wanted by the Tokyo authorities for prosecution.
Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan, has not arrested him.
He is respected in Lebanon for his entrepreneurial skills and gives lectures at the Saint-Esprit de Kaslik University near Beirut. But he remains discreet and steers clear of commenting on the country's political and economic upheavals.
One ofGhosn's lawyers, Jean Tamalet, told AFP theFrenchwarrantwas "very surprising because the investigating judge and the Nanterre prosecutor know perfectly well that CarlosGhosn, who has always cooperated with justice, is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory".
Frenchofficials have twice travelled to Beirut in the course of their investigations. They questionedGhosnin 2021 but only as a witness as a formal indictment cannot be made until and unless he is onFrenchterritory.
Meanwhile, his former aide Kelly was last month handed a six-month suspended sentence by a Tokyo court over allegations he helpedGhosnattempt to conceal income.
Prosecutorshad sought two years in prison for Kelly, accusing him of helpingGhosnunder-report his income to the tune of 9.1 billion yen ($79 million) between 2010 and 2018. The court only found Kelly guilty for the financial year 2017.
In an interview withFrenchnewspaper Le Parisien in February,Ghosnhit out at what he said was a "stab in the back by theFrenchgovernment and the Renault board of directors".
FrenchEconomy Minister Bruno Le Maire declined on Friday to comment on the latest developments, telling BFMTV/RMC radio: "Let justice take its course."