Lebanon Receives Interpol Arrest Notice For Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn

Interpol has issued a “red notice” to Lebanon asking the country to arrest former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Turkish police have detained seven people, including four pilots, in Istanbul as it began a probe into how Ghosn managed to fly away after his plane made a stopover on its way to Beirut last Sunday (29 December). Turkish authorities are investigating whether the detainees, helped Ghosn plot his escape.

Among the detainees are two airport workers with a ground service company and an operation manager of a cargo company, both privately-owned, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Japanese prosecutors launched a search on Ghosn’s house in Tokyo for more than four hours. About a dozen prosecutors were seen leaving the house with their briefcases. Japanese investigators are probing allegations that the former chairman breached the country’s immigration control law when he fled to Lebanon without leaving any record of departing Japan.

Ghosn said in a statement on Tuesday (1 January) that he had fled to Beirut, capital of Lebanon, to escape "injustice and political persecution".

"I am in Lebanon. I am no longer a hostage of a Japanese judicial system where guilt presumption prevails, where discrimination is generalised and where Human Rights are breached," he said in a statement.

Lebanon ruled out arresting Ghosn. There is no extradition agreement between Lebanon and Japan.

Former Nissan chairman was awaiting trial after he was arrested in Tokyo in 2018 over charges of financial misconduct.

(With Inputs From IANS)