10:46: Turkish private airline MNG Jet on Friday denounced the “illegal” use of two of its planes to allow former Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn to flee Japan for Lebanon, via Istanbul, adding that he had filed a complaint.
“MNG Jet has filed a complaint about the illegal use of its private aviation services in connection with the escape of Carlos Ghosn,” the company said in a statement, adding that one of its employees, arrested by the Turkish police, had “forged documents”.
9:49: Next week, Carlos Ghosn will speak at a press conference. according to USAinformations, this intervention which is expected is managed by the agency Image 7, directed by Anne Méaux.
According to our colleagues, requests for accreditation are handpicked. The former boss will have the final say on the choices of journalists who may be present. “We submit all the requests we receive to him and he will accede to these requests,” said an Image 7 spokesperson to Franceinfo.
Asked when this press conference will take place, when one of Carlos Ghosn’s lawyers talks about January 8, the communications company did not confirm it.
8:08: Its air route, however, seems more certain. He is suspected of having first boarded a private jet at Kansai International Airport, near Osaka (west of Japan) late Sunday evening, December 29, bound for Istanbul.
After a brief stopover at dawn Monday at Atatürk Airport, used by cargo planes and for private flights, Mr. Ghosn took another private jet to reach Beirut soon after.
His home in Tokyo was searched Thursday by Japanese investigators, while seven people, including four pilots, were arrested in Turkey as part of an on-site investigation to understand the circumstances of his transit through this country.
The Lebanese public prosecutor’s office also received a “red notice” from Interpol on Thursday. These international wanted notices are launched at the request of member countries. However, there is no extradition agreement between Lebanon and Japan.
Today aged 65, the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian boss was arrested in November 2018 in Japan and then charged with various alleged financial embezzlement. After 130 days in prison, he was released on bail in late April, under strict conditions and prohibited from leaving the country pending his trial.
8:01: The video surveillance revealed that Carlos Ghosn had left his residence in Tokyo alone last Sunday, according to sources close to the investigation cited Friday by Japanese media, while the details of his flight to Lebanon remain very unclear.
Captured Sunday around 12:00 (03:00 GMT), these are the last images of the former boss of Renault and Nissan to have been captured by a camera placed near the entrance of his home to monitor his entries and exits, according to the NHK chain. .
The video did not reveal a suspicious presence by his side at the time. Japanese police suspect that he then joined someone else to fly, also according to Japanese television.
Ghosn said Thursday that he had “single-handedly” organized his departure for Lebanon, without however giving details of this incredible flight.
Imad Ajami, a Lebanese friend of Mr. Ghosn settled in Japan, suggested Thursday to the Japanese agency Kyodo News that he could have escaped by hiding in a case of musical instrument after a concert given at his home, assisted by two agents from private security companies posing as musicians.
However, another source close to him interviewed by AFP had already denied this scenario before.
The concealment of the ex-big boss in a case of musical instrument “is speculation”, nuanced Mr. Ajami Friday with AFP. “I am not aware of how he (Carlos Ghosn) left” from Japan, he confessed, adding that he has had no direct discussions with him since his flight.
7:58: Mr. Ghosn is suspected of having used an illegal means of leaving the territory, either under a false identity or by evading controls.
His three passports (French, Lebanese, Brazilian) were kept in a safe by his Japanese lawyers, to limit the risk of flight.
However Mr. Ghosn held a second French passport, in a sealed case and whose opening code was only known to his Japanese lawyers, said Thursday AFP a source familiar with the matter.
Japanese justice had authorized him to have this document, to serve him as a short stay visa in the archipelago. He must therefore always have it on hand for his trips around the country, according to the same source.
If this second French passport was not used to leave Japanese territory, it could theoretically serve him during his Turkish stopover.
Lebanese authorities have indicated that Mr. Ghosn had entered the country legally, carrying his Lebanese identity card and a French passport.
Carlos Ghosn is scheduled to hold a press conference next week in Beirut.
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