BEIRUT (Reuters) – Carlos Ghosn’s daring escape from Japan to Lebanon may have cast light on his wealth and influence, but in Beirut the ex-Nissan boss can only get a few hundred dollars a week from the bank because of the country’s deep financial crisis. Lebanon, Ghosn’s childhood home, is in the throes of the worst financial and economic emergency in decades, with a shortage of dollars leading the Lebanese pound to slump and banks to tightly restrict savers’ access to their deposits. Asked in an interview with a Lebanese broadcaster on Thursday if he would be willing to transfer his money to Lebanese banks, Ghosn said: “What is this question?” “You know that if we move money to Lebanon we can no longer use it. I have investment in Lebanon and I have money in the Lebanese banks and – like all the Lebanese citizens – I can only withdraw $250 or $300 a week,” he told al-Jadeed TV. “My situation is like the situation of all Lebanese.”
by foxbusiness.com — For the first time since being reunited, former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn and his wife Carole spoke out together on Thursday about the injustices they say they’ve faced since the ex-auto boss was arrested in Japan last year. “Anything is better than Carlos being in Japan,” Carole Ghosn said in an interview on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria.” While being held in Japan, Carlos Ghosn said he was interrogated day and night and lied to by Japanese authorities. “What they were looking for was not the truth,” he said. “What they were looking for was just confession. They didn’t care about the truth.”
Carole Ghosn experienced unjust treatment herself, even though her husband was the person of interest, she said. Japan issued a warrant for her arrest earlier this week, just a day before Carlos Ghosn was scheduled to speak at a press conference Wednesday. She deems the actions on behalf of Japanese authorities to be a scare tactic and used to “humiliate” the couple. “It’s a bit disturbing, all of this,” she said. “And it makes no sense. They’re just being vindictive. They want to punish [Carlos Ghosn] and punish me for speaking out against their judicial system.” The former Nissan executive said that he is speaking out for the “tens of thousands of people” who experience Japan’s justice system but do not have the same voice as he does. “The battle today is to try to fight against the system because there is no way you can escape,” he said while also issuing a warning to foreign workers in Japan: “You don’t know how much of a risk you’re taking until this hostage justice system is changed,” he said. Carlos Ghosn said he’s surrendered his passport to Lebanese authorities in good faith and is willing to cooperate.
by naharnet.com – Ex-auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn told Brazilian media he was disappointed by the Latin American country’s failure to “pressure” authorities in Japan, where he was detained before jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon. The former Renault-Nissan chief, who was born in Brazil, had been awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies. Ghosn, 65, told the media in Beirut on Wednesday that he fled Japan last month because he would not get a fair trial. He had been held for 130 days under severe conditions. In an interview with GloboNews, Ghosn said President Jair Bolsonaro had previously contacted his sister, Claudine Bichara, who lives in Brazil, raising his expectations for official intervention in his case. “I was hoping that at some point, perhaps some pressure from the Brazilian government for normal, proper treatment would be made,” Ghosn said in the interview broadcast Wednesday evening. Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports, had hoped Bolsonaro would raise the issue with Japanese officials during his visit to Tokyo in October. “I believe the ministry of foreign affairs told him the Japanese would be upset, so nothing was done.” Bolsonaro’s office did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Ghosn said he could go to Brazil “without problem” so long as he took a direct flight to “avoid problems with Interpol.” Lebanon on Thursday banned Ghosn from traveling after questioning him over an Interpol “red notice.” A “red notice” is a request to police across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. Lebanon does not have an extradition agreement with Japan. Ghosn has argued since his shock November 2018 arrest that the case against him was a bid to block his plans to more closely integrate Nissan with its French partner Renault. Bichara, Ghosn’s sister, told Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo that she was disappointed by Brazil’s inaction in her brother’s case. “It preferred to abstain and avoid taking risks, unlike Lebanon,” she said.
