Lebanon receives Interpol wanted notice for Nissan ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn

Lebanon has received an Interpol arrest warrant for fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn
AP
Stephanie Cockroft3 January 2020

Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan's ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn, the country's justice minister said.

Albert Serhan said that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received on Thursday by the prosecution.

Mr Ghosn skipped bail before a trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges and fled to Lebanon via Turkey.

Authorities have said that he entered legally on a French passport.

Interpol's so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive.

Mr Serhan, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, said the Lebanese prosecution "will carry out its duties", suggesting for the first time that Mr Ghosn may be brought in for questioning.

But he said that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, ruling out the possibility that Beirut would hand Mr Ghosn over to Japan.

Sources close to Mr Ghosn said he decided to flee Japan after learning that the second of his two trials had been delayed until April 2021 and also because he had not been allowed to speak to his wife as part of strict bail conditions.

He was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company, a plan that was in the works for three months and involved transit through Turkey, it has been reported.

Police detained seven people on Thursday , including four pilots, as part of an investigation into Mr Ghosn's passage through the country, a Turkish police spokeswoman said.

Reporting by Associated Press

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