Lebanon’s foreign ministry stated on Tuesday it would stand by Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn, who is of Lebanese descent and holds Lebanese citizenship, a day following his arrest in Japan on alleged financial misconduct.
Ghosn, one of the prominent leaders in the auto industry, was arrested after Nissan Motor stated he had engaged in wrongdoing, consisting of personal use of company money and under-reporting about his earnings for years. The Japanese automaker plans to remove him as chairman this week.
France moved on Tuesday to remove Ghosn from the helm of Renault but sought to defend the automaker’s alliance with Nissan, which has been rocked by the scandal.
Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has asked the ambassador in Tokyo to talk with Ghosn and follow up on the case, the ministry stated.
“Carlos Ghosn is a Lebanese citizen who represents one of the Lebanese successes abroad and the Lebanese foreign ministry will stand by him in his adversity to make sure he gets a fair trial,” the statement noted. Ghosn, who has Lebanese roots, was born in Brazil and is also a citizen of France.
