A Turkish pilot accused of helping former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to escape from Japan said on Thursday that he did not know that the escapee was on board.
Turkish authorities detained Okan Kösemen, an executive from Turkish aircraft company MNG, and four pilots in early January, and charged them with migrant smuggling charges, yet, they were released in July when the first session took place.
One of the pilots on Ghosn's flight from Osaka to Istanbul, said before Thursday's hearing that he only knew the fugitive was on the plane from news reports.
At Thursday’s hearing, the court rejected a request by the pilots to lift a travel ban against them. They had told the court the measure prevented them from carrying out their job.
The Turkish prosecutor noted that executive Kösemen received €216,000 and $66,000 in his bank accounts between October 16 and December 26, 2019 to accompany Ghosn during his İstanbul-Beirut flight.
At Thursday's session, the court rejected the pilots' request to lift the travel ban taken against them.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan in late 2018 and charged with failing to report his salary and using the company money for personal purposes.
The former CEO of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors alliance was awaiting trial under home arrest in Japan when he fled in December 2019 to Istanbul then to Beirut.
Follow the latest news on Google News
