Japanese officials permitted ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case when he was out on bail, public broadcaster NHK stated on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed an escape to Lebanon.
Prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo residence of Ghosn, NHK also reported.
Ghosn, one of the world’s best-known executives, has become Japan’s most famous fugitive following the revelation on Tuesday that he had fled to Lebanon to escape what he referred to as a “rigged” justice system.
Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company some days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three months, according to Reuters.
Ghosn was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and deals with four charges – which he rejects – including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to auto dealerships in the Middle East. He enjoyed immense support from Lebanon following his arrest.
Japanese officials have not officially commented on Ghosn’s departure. Government offices are shut this week due to the New Year holiday.
Officials in Lebanon stated that Ghosn entered legally on a French passport. But one of Ghosn’s Japanese lawyers has stated that the lawyers were still in possession of all three of his passports, due to the terms of his bail.
However, Ghosn had been issued a spare French passport, NHK stated, mentioning unidentified sources, and carried it in the months prior to his departure.
NHK, mentioning the sources, stated he had been “obliged” to carry the passport with him since May, without describing the reason. Foreigners in Japan are required to keep their government-issued identification cards or passports at all times.
NHK stated his lawyers applied to have the terms of his bail modified so that he could carry a passport in a locked case.
The key to the locked case in which another passport was kept was held by his lawyers, NHK stated.
Nobody was immediately available for discussing the matter at the office of his lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, the French embassy in Tokyo, or at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
