Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Breaking: Lebanon Issues Travel Ban on Carlos Ghosn


Thu 09 Jan 2020 | 12:32 PM
H-Tayea

Lebanon has shortly issued a travel ban on Nissan ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn after finishing questioning him in connection with the Interpol warrant for his arrest.

Last week, Lebanon received an Interpol's wanted notice for Ghosn, who has fled to Beirut during the last few days.

Ghosn escaped from Japan to Lebanon last month while he was awaiting a trial in Tokyo on charges related to financial corruption.

In his justification for escaping from Japan, Ghosn said at a press conference in the Beirut Syndicate of Journalists on Wednesday that he had to choose between death or flight, accusing the Japanese prosecutors of having stripped his right to stay with his family, and co-workers.

Ghosn, 65, dwelled on the extent of the injustice and persecution he suffered in Japan, noting that he was under pressure during interrogations and received threats to his family.

The former CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance claimed that his arrest was a conspiracy to prevent him from carrying out the full integration of Nissan with the French Renault.

“I was ready to retire before June 2018, unfortunately, I accepted the offer to continue to merge the two companies,” He continued.

Ghosn also confirmed that the Alliance missed a great opportunity, to become the dominant player in the industry by joining “Fiat Chrysler” following his overthrow.

As for the accusations against him of corruption, Ghosn denied them completely and clearly, noting that his escape was out of injustice.

Ghosn indicated that he is ready to present evidence of his innocence through his lawyer, confirming his readiness for a trial anywhere, provided that it is fair

On his future after fleeing Japan, Ghosn confirmed that he is happy with his presence in Lebanon and is ready to stay there for a long time, indicating that he does not consider himself imprisoned in Beirut.

Meantime, the former CEO feels safe in Lebanon with the absence of an extradition treaty with Japan, and with Beirut confirming his legal entrance into the country.