DID HE FLEE IN A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT BOX?

Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn entered Lebanon using a French passport, Lebanese broadcaster MTV reported yesterday, citing an official source.

According to the report, Ghosn was smuggled from Japan in a wooden box in a plane, and arrived in Turkey before proceeding to Lebanon on a private plane.

Ghosn is reportedly staying at the home of his wife Carol’s family. He was in Lebanon for many hours before the news was announced, and according to Lebanese media he met with the Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, and he also received remarkable security protection from the Lebanese state.

The operation was allegedly carried out by a ‘Para-Military’ group, coinciding with the presence of his wife in the United States. The group entered his house in Japan under the guise of a band for Christmas dinner.

The reports allege that though the band left after the party was over, Japanese authorities did not know that Carlos Ghosn was hiding in one of the boxes intended for the transfer of musical instruments. He is then said to have left the country from a local airport.

Ghosn had been under house arrest and close surveillance since being granted bail in April, following his initial arrest in November 2018. He had also not been allowed to communicate with his wife until November.

He’s a citizen of Lebanon, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan, and is held in high esteem there. Ghosn’s lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said his legal team has all of his passports, adding that it’s likely he entered Lebanon using a different name.

Carlos Ghosn’s remarkable escape from Japan makes him one of the most famous white-collar fugitives in recent years, joining the likes of Malaysian businessman Jho Low and Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya.