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Prosecutors in Tokyo have asked judges to question Carlos Ghosn's wife over funds allegedly hijacked by the former president of Nissan Motor, sources said Sunday.
Tokyo prosecutors plan to interview Carole, Ghosn's wife, about allegation that part of a builder's sales incentive payments to an Omani distributor was paid to her company for her use according to the same source.
Prosecutors suspect the company Carole Ghosn to use the money in part to finance the purchase of a luxury yacht mainly for the needs of their family.
Prosecutors asked him to meet them for a voluntary examination as an unsworn witness, but this request was denied, prompting them to ask the judges to question him on their behalf before opening the case. the first hearing on the allegations, reported the public broadcaster NHK. Such a request gives judges the power to compulsorily question witnesses who refuse to testify, according to the broadcaster. Prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.
Meanwhile, Carole Ghosn went to Paris to appeal to the French government to help her husband and said the government "should do more for him," the Financial Times reported Sunday.
"I do not think they've done enough. I do not think he has had enough support and is calling for help, "she told the FT in an interview before flying to Japan on Friday. "As a French citizen, this should be a right."
Carole Ghosn also told France's Journal du Dimanche that her husband had recorded a video interview in English before being detained. "He names the people responsible for what happened to him. The lawyers have it. It will be published soon, "she told the newspaper.
Ghosn's defense team plans to broadcast a video message on April 11, the day he was scheduled to hold a press conference, prior to his last arrest.
Ghosn was arrested again on Thursday, suspected of trying to get rich at Nissan's expense, in another dramatic twist that his lawyers called an attempt to muzzle him. The new arrest opens the possibility that he will be questioned again in the absence of his lawyer, as that is the norm in Japan.
The additional indictment would likely prolong Ghosn's trial, which is expected to begin later this year, his lawyer said, adding that the loss of access to Ghosn's trial documents could put his client at a disadvantage.
Tokyo prosecutors confiscated Carole Ghosn's passport and mobile phone on Thursday when they issued a fourth arrest warrant against Ghosn in connection with the misuse of funds. paid by Nissan to the Omani company Suhail Bahwan Automobiles. It was unclear whether her passport had been returned or whether she had multiple passports.
Suhail Bahwan Automobiles reportedly received $ 15 million between December 2015 and July 2018 and transferred $ 5 million to a bank account of Good Faith Investments, a Lebanese investment company actually owned by Ghosn. Ghosn denied all the allegations.
It is suspected that the money was transferred from the Omani distributor to the Lebanese company through several companies, the sources said. Prosecutors suspect it was an attempt to conceal funds before they arrived in Carole Ghosn's company, they said.
Good Faith Investments is also suspected of sending money to a California-based investment company whose son is the CEO
The Tokyo District Court on Friday approved the prosecutors' request that Mr Ghosn be held until 14 April to 14 April. His detention could be extended if approved by the court.
Ghosn was arrested for the first time in November and has since been charged with violating the Financial Instruments Act by under-reporting compensation to regulators for years and aggravating breach of trust in connection with the alleged transfer of losses related to private investment in Nissan, which he denied.
At the same time, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, Saturday that his country respected Japanese judicial proceedings in the Ghson case.
The French Foreign Minister, quoted by an official of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying at a bilateral meeting with Kono on the sidelines of the group of seven people in western France that France was respecting Japan's "judicial independence" in a reference to the new arrest of Ghosn on Thursday.
Drian also said that France continues to defend the principle of the presumption of innocence and to provide consular protection to Ghosn, according to a Japanese official.
Ghosn is of Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality.
Kono then told reporters that the investigations into the charges against Ghosn "will not influence bilateral relations".
Reuters information added
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