Japan Issues Arrest Warrant for Mrs. Ghosn; Carlos Prepares Press Conference

Tokyo prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn’s wife Carole on Tuesday for allegedly lying during testimony. While Japanese authorities have also speculated that she may have helped orchestrate the movie-like escape of her husband from the island nation, something Mr. Ghosn proactively denied, she’s only officially charged with perjury.

The warrant accuses Carole Ghosn of having falsely denied knowing or meeting individuals tied to the company who received payments from Nissan Motor before funneling a portion of those funds to a firm owned by her husband — which is one of the reasons why he was arrested in the first place.

However, even before fleeing Japan in a trunk, Mr. Ghosn said he possessed genuine evidence that the country’s government had actively participated in a corporate coup with Nissan. According to Reuters, court filings released by his lawyers claim it was basically a setup to ensure any prospective mergers between Nissan and Renault failed.

Ghosn is said to point the finger at numerous automotive executives working with Japanese prosecutors and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry officials in the near future. Ghosn’s wife Carole also published a letter she wrote to Human Rights Watch protesting his treatment in detainment in January of 2019 and has pleaded with the French government for help.

Claims also exist that Japanese prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense team and made a continuous effort to prolong Ghosn’s court case, obliterating any pretense that this was to be a fair trial. The former Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance chairman is scheduled to hold a press conference on the matter Wednesday. He’s currently hiding out in Lebanon while Japan attempts to have him extradited. His wife is Lebanese-born with citizenship in the United States, likely making her extremely difficult (if not impossible) for Japan to wrangle away. But that hasn’t stopped it from trying.

“Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn,” a spokeswoman for Ghosn said.

From Reuters:

In a move that has already sent shudders through Japanese officialdom, Mr Ghosn previewed the Wednesday press conference by telling a U.S. television interviewer that he would show “actual evidence” and reveal the names of Nissan executives and Japanese government officials whom he claims plotted a coup that brought him down.

A spokeswoman for Mr Ghosn and his family in Beirut pointed out that Mr Ghosn’s fourth arrest in Japan last April came after he announced he was to hold a press conference. The day before he was due “to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn”, the spokeswoman said.

“Nine months ago, Carole Ghosn voluntarily went back to Japan to answer prosecutors and was free to go without any charges,” said the spokeswoman, who added: “The issuance of this warrant is pathetic.”

On Tuesday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, referred to Ghosn’s escape to Beirut as “regrettable,” adding that Tokyo has already asked Lebanon for help. Unfortunately, the country is not in the habit of extraditing its citizens.

“It’s necessary to carefully consider the legal systems of both countries,” he said.

[Image: Plamen Galabov/Shutterstock]