Carlos Ghosn recounted the details of his incredible escape from the double bass case | The Brazilian businessman escaped from Japanese justice at the end of 2019

Carlos ghosn, the Brazilian millionaire at the head of Nissan and Renault, recounted in an interview the details of his escape from Japanese justice, which occurred in December 2019, and revealed the aid network he had to get to Lebanon. Ghosn was arrested in November 2018, accused of embezzling Nissan funds and of having received a higher salary than that notified to the company, accusations he denies.

At the time of the arrest, Nissan and Renault had an alliance with Mitsubishi which had it as its boss. The CEO had become a celebrity in the business world because of the cuts he made at Nissan, which allowed the automaker to survive.

The 67-year-old businessman has a Lebanese passport, for which he cannot be extradited. From Beirut, a year and a half after his surprising escape, he explained the details of the escape, which involved being hidden in a double bass case. “The 30 minutes I spent inside the box of the plane, waiting for take off, was probably the longest wait I have ever known in my life,” he told this subject in his dialogue with the BBC.

Ghosn defined “as if you were hit by a bus or something really traumatic was happening to you” the feeling he had when he was arrested at Tokyo Airport in November 2018. “Suddenly, I got it. had to learn to live without a watch, without a computer, without a phone, without news, without pen, nothing, ”he said of what he was to experience in the next thirteen months. He had just been released on bail and was awaiting trial when he escaped. He preferred to flee rather than incur a possible sentence of 15 years in prison.

The moment he decided to escape was when he was told that he could not have contact with his wife. “The plan was that I couldn’t show my face, so I had to hide somewhere,” he said. “And the only way for me to hide was to stay in a box or in a suitcase so that no one could see me, no one could recognize me and so the plan could work.” From there to the double bass case there was a step. “It made the most sense, especially since at that time there were a lot of concerts in Japan.”

The goal was to get from his house to the airport. It was all based on being as normal as possible. “It should be a normal day where I walk around regularly with normal clothes, normal attitude and suddenly everything changes,” he said.

For this, he had to change his wardrobe: no longer circulating in a suit but in jeans and sports shoes. “You can imagine that I had to go to places I had never been to, buy clothes that I had never bought,” he said of it. “All this to have the maximum chance of success without attracting attention at all.”

The businessman traveled by high-speed train to the city of Osaka. There, a private jet awaited its departure. Before, in a hotel, he got into the business “When you walk into the club, you don’t think of the past, you don’t think of the future, you only think of the moment,” he said . “You are not afraid, you have no emotion other than the huge focus on ‘this is your chance, you can’t miss it. If you lose it, you will pay for it with your life, the life of a hostage in Japan, ”he added.

There, Americans Michael Taylor and his son Peter entered the scene, posing as musicians. They took him from the hotel to the airport in the case. The Brazilian estimates that an hour and a half spent inside the case. “The 30 minutes I spent inside the box on the plane, waiting for take off, was probably the longest wait I have ever had in my life,” he described to this moment.

The plane made a stopover in Turkey. The next day, he arrives in Lebanon, where the invalidity of the extradition agreement with Japan allows him to live with peace of mind. The Taylors weren’t so lucky. After being identified, the United States returned them to Japan, and they now face three years in prison for their aid in the escape.

Another who can go to jail is Grg Kelly, Ghosn’s collaborator at Nissan. He is accused of helping the Brazilian change the company’s accounts and is under house arrest in Tokyo, where he denies the charges. “I was told that the end of (Greg Kelly’s) trial would probably be later this year. And then God knows what the results of this trial will be used for, as I said, a false reason, ”Ghosn said about it. “I am sorry for all the people who are victims of the hostage justice system in Japan, all of them,” he added.