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BEIRUT – A team of French investigators will arrive in Beirut next month to take part in the interrogation of former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese justice ministry official said on Saturday.
The official did not give a specific date or details of what information investigators would seek from Ghosh.
Former auto executive Ghosn, a Lebanese, Brazilian and French national, fled Japan in a dramatic escape from headlines last year, arriving in Lebanon on December 30, 2019.
In addition to his trial in Japan, Ren, a 66-year-old businessman, is facing a number of legal challenges in France, including tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of company assets, while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance.
Carlos Ghosn, former chief executive of Nissan Motor Co., poses for a photograph in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. (By Temera Abdul Hadi / Bloomberg Getty Images)
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The Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said French investigators would work closely with their Lebanese counterparts.
Information about the investigation is confidential under French law, and French judicial officials did not respond to requests for comment Saturday on the report.
After leading Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades, 2018 Oz was arrested in November 2018 in Japan on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gain and violating security laws by not disclosing its full return. He denied wrongdoing and fled to Japan on bail pending a hearing. He is unlikely to be extradited from Lebanon, where he has been since last year.
At least two Ghosn-related investigations were opened in France. One focused on questionable transactions between Renault and distributors in Oman, as well as questionable payments for private trips and events paid by Renault-Nissan’s Netherlands-based holding company RNBV.
In this January 10, 2020, file photo, Carlos Ghosn, former chairman of Nissan, spoke to the Japanese media during an interview in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP, file by Mika Fujio / Kyodo News)
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The second investigation focuses on the suspected misuse of company funds for the party for Ghosn at Versailles.
The French investigation is aimed at determining who is guilty of alleged financial violations between 2009 and 2020.
This includes “suspicious financial flows” between Renault and SBA car dealerships in Oman. This aspect of the investigation targets the travel and other expenses of the multi-million euros holding RNBV by the Netherlands-based Renault-Nissan but is suspected to be for Ghosn’s personal use.
Khosan’s French lawyers have said the payment to SBA is a “reasonable bonus” for increasing car sales in the Persian Gulf and have denied allegations that the funds benefited Ghosn or his family personally.
Renault said last year that an internal audit deed with Nissan found ન 11 million in questionable costs on RNBV, allegedly linked to Ghosn, including air travel, personal expenses and donations to nonprofits.
