Right before new year’s even, wanted Lebanese Billionaire Carlos Ghosn had arrived in Lebanon and reunited with his wife, amid wide support from the Lebanese people.
His plan now is reportedly to seek a trial in Lebanon, having previously “ousted” the “injustice” of the Japanese legal system under which he had been held since his arrest in November 2018.
Lebanon currently has no extradition treaty with Japan, which would technically be the grounds for a trial in Lebanon for Ghosn who is accused of financial misconduct. Ghosn currently denies all the allegations against him.
Japan has since confirmed that Ghosn will pay the hefty some of £10.5million as a condition of his bail. One of the conditions imposed on him prevents him from seeing his wife without the permission of the Japanese court.
Under the terms of his bail, he had been confined to his house in Tokyo and had to have cameras installed at the entrance.
He was prevented from communicating with his wife, Carole, and had his use of the internet and other communications curtailed. For the past seven months, they have been unable to speak to each other at all.
According to multiple news outlets such as The Sun, Dailymail, Financial Express, and Business Insider, Ghosn was smuggled out of house arrest by a private security company.
As MTV reported, “[…] the band entered his home in Japan under the guise of a band for a Gregorian dinner, then returned and exited after the party’s logical time had passed.
The Japanese authorities did not know at the time that Carlos Ghosn had hidden in one of the boxes intended for the transfer of musical instruments, and then left the country through a local airport.”
Japanese Newspaper The Tokyo Shimbun has since stated that Ghosn’s actions had made “a mockery of the Japanese justice system.”
The paper wrote: “Ghosn insists he escaped political persecution; however, traveling abroad without court permission is against the conditions of his bail, and mocks the Japanese justice system”.
The paper went on to elaborate that his actions put the entire question of his innocence up for debate.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, several people close to Ghosn said his escape plan was launched at the weekend after weeks of careful planning, including by accomplices inside Japan.
Ghosn’s now-infamous lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said he was “baffled” by reports of the escape as all three of his passports had been confiscated. Ghosn reportedly has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.
The lawyer concluded, “It would have been quite difficult for him to do this without serious assistance.”
CNBC reported that “Japanese authorities allowed ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail.”
Ghosn is reportedly staying at his lavish mansion in Beirut with his wife, where members of Lebanese security forces have reportedly been seen circulating the area and leaving the house.
Despite a multitude of reports about his escape, Ghosn’s wife Carole has called the allegations of her husband escaping in a Double Bass Case “pure fiction.”
