Carlos Ghosn on Japan escape: 'My family had no role'
The ex-automotive exec called speculation surrounding his family's involvement inaccurate and false
Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn said in a statement Thursday any speculation of his family’s involvement in his escape from Japan to Lebanon was “inaccurate and false,” social media shows.
Financial Times reporter Peter Campbell shared the statement on Twitter, quoting the former auto executive as saying: "There has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan.”
He added: "All such speculation is inaccurate and false. I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever."
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Ghosn, who is of Lebanese heritage, was arrested in November 2018 on financial misconduct charges of under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust. He was out on bail – and was supposedly being watched closely – in Japan when he fled the country for early Monday.
Lebanese TV station MTV reported Ghosn escaped Japan with the help of members of a band, who entered his home under the allegedly false notion that they would be playing music for him. After the appropriate amount of time had passed, the band left with their instruments – and Ghosn – in tow, having allegedly hidden him in "one of the boxes intended for the transfer of musical instruments," according to the report.
Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, right, and his wife Carole in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)
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Lebanon's justice minister said Thursday the country has received an international wanted notice – or a “Red Notice” – from Interpol for Ghosn.
While not an arrest warrant, the document serves as “an international wanted persons notice,” according to Interpol, which “cannot compel the law enforcement authorities in any country to arrest someone who is the subject of a Red Notice.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.