Carlos Ghosn awaiting a decision of the Tokyo Prosecutor's Office on the extension of his custody

Carlos Ghosn will he spend ten more days in custody? Dependent on the Tokyo prosecutor's office, the decision is expected Friday, November 30. Stopped on 19, the now ex-president of the Japanese manufacturer Nissan is suspected of having validated annual reports submitted to the financial authorities between 2011 and 2015, knowing that they included information minus 8 billion yen (62 million euros) ) on his income.

According to Japanese law, the initial custody of seventy-two hours may be extended ten days twice. The suspect can stay in detention for twenty-three days. Traditionally, the prosecutor's office keeps foreigners in prison to prevent them from leaving Japan or contacting possible accomplices.

Carlos Ghosn has still not been indicted, suggesting a lack of evidence for the prosecution. The former Nissan executive denied the charges against him, saying he wanted to defer payment of half of his salary at the time of his retirement, presumably under the taishokukin, the envelope paid by the company to the new retiree.

A system based on the presumption of guilt

Greg Kelly, his advisor also arrested on 19 November and subject to the same regime as Mr Ghosn, for his part insisted on the legality of the operations mentioned by the prosecution.

At the same time, the flow of information and rumors continues to flow in the Japanese press. On November 28, she reported on the compensation of Nissan executives, including Carlos Ghosn, superior in 2017 to the limit set by shareholders. Mr. Ghosn also reportedly received a reimbursement in 2008 of a loss of 1.7 billion yen from Nissan's personal investments, a charge denied by his lawyer.

The suspect may remain in custody for 23 days, but custody may be extended for the same duration if the public prosecutor adds new charges to the case, in this case those of misuse of corporate badets or misappropriation of funds.

Conversely, reports Reuters, the audit firm of the manufacturer, Ernst & Young ShinNihon, would have questioned Nissan, in 2013 in particular, the purchase through Zi-A Capital, a company created in Amsterdam, luxury residences abroad used by Mr Ghosn. Nissan said at the time that everything was legal.

In this context, the prosecution would not exclude adding new charges to Mr Ghosn's file, namely those of misuse of corporate badets or misappropriation of funds. The accused may have to undergo an additional twenty-three days of detention, according to the controversial system called "hostage justice", which allows prosecutors to keep a suspect without trial in prison for months. For the famous criminal lawyer Makoto Endo, this system is based on the presumption of "Guilt to the evidence of guilt".

Mr Ghosn is therefore at risk of being detained in the mbadive Kosuge detention center, built in the 1990s in the Katsushika district of north-east Tokyo. This prison counted at 1^st June 3,000 inmates, including 223 foreigners of 30 nationalities. It is home to one of Japan's seven capital execution halls. It was there that Shoko Asahara, the guru of the sect Aum Shinrikyo, was hanged in July who led the 1995 sarin gas attack.

The cell with beige walls of Mr. Ghosn makes three tatamis, about 5 m ². It is equipped with a sink and toilet. The door is pierced with reinforced glbad panels. Three meals are served daily. The prisoner has the right to exercise for a maximum of thirty minutes a day in a space of 10 m² and can take a bath twice a week. He must maintain his cell.

Contacts with the family would be prohibited

For now, the former Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian boss would be in shape. This is the impression left to Nidal Yahia, Lebanon's ambbadador to Japan, who visited him on November 28 for consular protection and even says that"He's totally innocent". The Ambbadador of France, Laurent Pic, and the Consul General of Brazil in the Archipelago, Joao de Mendonca Lima Neto, also made the trip. Mr Ghosn's contacts with his family would be prohibited to prevent leaks.

Conducted in English at the prison by two prosecutors, Mr. Ghosn's interrogations last eight hours and, according to the NHK channel, are recorded. Lawyers do not attend because this phase of the proceedings is not considered part of the adversarial debate. It is also essential to the Japanese system, based on confession.

In his defense, Mr. Ghosn enlisted the services of the American firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, which represents large companies in the United States. He also solicited the Japanese Motonari Otsuru, now a lawyer and former head of the Special Investigations Office of the Tokyo Prosecutor's Office, which is in charge of his investigation.