Bid to jack up security after Ghosn flees

JAPAN yesterday said it would tighten immigration security measures after former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn fled the country while on bail, its first official response to an astonishing escape that has transformed the executive into an international fugitive.

Authorities have remained quiet after Ghosn revealed last Tuesday that he had fled to his childhood home of Lebanon to escape a “rigged” justice system in Japan. All government offices and most businesses in Japan have been shut for the holidays.

The former Nissan Motor and Renault chairman was arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and faced multiple charges of financial wrongdoing, which he denies.

Justice Minister Masako Mori said Ghosn’s “apparently illegal” departure was regrettable and added there was no record of him leaving the country.

She promised a thorough investigation and said authorities had issued an international notice for his arrest.

“I have instructed the Immigration Services Agency to co-ordinate with related agencies to further tighten departure procedures,” she said, adding that Ghosn’s skipping bail was not justified, and that the court had revoked his bail.

Separately, prosecutors issued a statement defending Japan’s justice system, saying his departure ignored the legal system and amounted to a crime. It remains unclear what Japan might do to bring him back.

It has extradition treaties only with the US and South Korea, meaning it might be difficult to return Ghosn from Lebanon.

Mori was due to brief reporters in Tokyo this morning.

Lebanon said it had received an Interpol arrest warrant for Ghosn. It has said he entered the country legally.

A senior Lebanese security official said it was not yet clear whether Ghosn would be summoned for questioning over the warrant, but added that Lebanon did not extradite its citizens.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Ghosn slipped out of Japan on a private jet hidden in a large black case typically used to carry audio gear. He was accompanied by a pair of men with names matching those of American security contractors, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with an investigation into the escape.

There was no X-ray conducted of the large case.