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ISTANBUL – In the year since his daring escape to Lebanon after being under house arrest in Japan, former Nissan Motor manager Carlos Ghosn has maintained a heavy schedule of personal prosecutions even as French and Japanese authorities come closer to him.
In September, Ghosn announced a new program to mentor businessmen and entrepreneurs at Holy Spirit University in Kaslik north of Beirut. Students will pay $ 15,000 to $ 20,000 to participate in the six-day course that will take place next spring.
“[It’s] a high level management program that we want to be the best not only in Lebanon but in the region, ”Ghosn said of the upcoming program in front of a university audience. He eloquently discussed efforts to develop talent and tech startups in English and “We are not only good traders, we are also good entrepreneurs,” he said of his fellow Lebanese.
Lebanon has been Ghosn’s home since he fled Japan on December 29 last year. As Ghosn had hoped, Beirut resisted Tokyo’s efforts to have him extradited to stand trial for financial misconduct. The Brazilian-born businessman spent much of his childhood in Lebanon and is said to have close ties to his government.
While the automaker he brought back from the brink of bankruptcy struggles to move forward, Ghosn appears to have been busy with projects that help polish his image. A French production company and a Middle Eastern media group announced plans in October for a documentary and mini-series on Ghosn with his and his wife’s cooperation. Filming has already started in Beirut.
Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn and his wife Carole Ghosn pose for a photo in Beirut in January. The couple cooperate on a documentary about their escape. © Reuters
Ghosn also set up his own official website in November, posting updates on his activities as well as criticism of Japan’s “hostage justice” system. In a September article, he predicted that “a long fight is ahead” in the pending lawsuit in Japan of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, accused of conspiring to underestimate compensation for Ghosn.
Ghosn’s comfort in making public appearances appears to be related to the fact that two prominent figures who allegedly assisted in his escape from Japan have yet to be returned to Japan.
The US State Department and a federal court had agreed to extradite US Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son to Japan, increasing the likelihood of a trial there. But the movement was interrupted at the end of October following a challenge from their lawyers.
Yet the pressure on Ghosn himself is mounting. In addition to the case against him in Japan, where prosecutors filed an international request for arrest via Interpol last January, French authorities have been investigating allegations of misuse of company assets while he was at the head of Nissan partner Renault.
Ghosn now faces charges that he evaded taxes by falsely declaring his residence. French media reported this month that tax authorities have been given the green light to seize $ 13 million in assets held by Ghosn and his wife. French investigators are expected to travel to Lebanon for questioning in January.
Changing conditions in Lebanon could also affect Ghosn’s future.
The country defaulted on its debt for the first time in March, and downtown Beirut is still recovering from the immense damage caused by the explosion that rocked the capital in August. The government resigned en masse after the explosion – which was seen as the culmination of years of political corruption and dysfunction – and a new one has yet to be formed. A capital crisis prompted banks to impose strict limits on cash withdrawals.
As public frustration comes to a head, economist Dan Azzi, former CEO of the Lebanese branch of Standard Chartered, argues that the only option is a “haircut” – a write-down – on assets held by the companies. wealthy privileged, a category that includes Ghosn.
While pursuing criminal charges against the former Nissan chief now seems difficult as long as he remains in Lebanon, that could change as the country’s condition deteriorates. “There is room for government thinking to change in response to the domestic situation,” said a senior Japanese legal official, adding that Beirut will also monitor the actions of foreign authorities.
“We hope this will lead to extradition,” the official said.
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