This file photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn gesturing as he addresses a large crowd of journalists on his reasons for dodging trial in Japan, where he is accused of financial misconduct, at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT – Three French judges connected with the investigation of Lebanese former Renault-Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn in Nanterre, France, landed in Beirut on Sunday, reports AFP.
Here’s what we know:
• The judges plan to stay in Beirut until Thursday, where they will question witnesses, AFP’s sources said. This visit could signal a change in the status of Mr. Ghosn, who has lived in Beirut since his escape from Japan at the end of 2019. In concrete terms, French authorities can ask Lebanese prosecutors to notify Ghosn of charges, the equivalent of an indictment in France, or issue an arrest warrant against him.
• This is the second trip to Lebanon by French judges in Ghosn's case. Last June, Ghosn was questioned for five days in connection with the investigations targeting him in Nanterre, but also in Paris, as part of a commission of international rogatory. At the end of this hearing, his lawyers said he was "happy" to have been able to "explain his position." However, he refused to answer questions based on a hard drive, which he believes was "stolen in Lebanon by Nissan" and "perhaps modified," he said in an interview with French outlet Le Parisien on Feb. 12. A source familiar with the matter told AFP that the questioning of witnesses this week could be linked to this hard drive.
• The former car tycoon is targeted in France by two legal proceedings: in Paris, for the consulting services concluded by RNBV, a Dutch subsidiary embodying the Renault-Nissan alliance, with former French Justice Minister Rachida Dati and criminologist Alain Bauer; and in Nanterre, in particular for misuse of corporate assets and money laundering.
• Aged 67 and targeted by an arrest warrant from Interpol, the former businessman, who has Lebanese, French and Brazilian citizenship, has been forced to stay in Lebanon since his incredible flight from Japan in December 2019. Arrested in November 2018 in Tokyo, he justified his escape by claiming it was necessary in order to "escape injustice," denouncing a "plot" by the Japanese authorities.