His "show" of more than two hours on Wednesday, will he have convinced? Carlos Ghosn, who fled his residence in Tokyo on December 30 to take refuge in Beirut, defended himself during a press conference from the numerous accusations against him.
The former Renault-Nissan boss has been charged for several reasons in Japan, and an investigation has also been opened in France in another case. Here is a point on the reproaches made against him, and on the arguments he puts forward to try to refute them.
Concealment of income
When Carlos Ghosn was arrested on the tarmac at Tokyo airport on November 19, 2018, and then charged a few days later, it was due to alleged inaccuracies regarding his income in Nissan's annual reports submitted to the stock market authorities. The former car magnate is suspected of not having declared amounts that he was to receive after his retirement, estimated by the courts at 9.23 billion yen (74 million euros) over a period from 2010 to 2018.
In his defense, Carlos Ghosn regularly assured that the sums were not fixed and that it was therefore impossible to state them. Again on Wednesday, he described his arrest as a "coup", conceived on the basis of a simple "non-declaration of an undecided and unpaid income", a situation criticized by "all law professors, including understood in Japan ”.
VIDEO. Carlos Ghosn details his conditions of detention in Japan
Otherwise, this version may seem weakened, given what Nissan conceded last year. The Japanese company agreed to pay a fine on this point to the stock market policeman, while retroactively mentioning the sums in question on its accounts for the year ended March 2019.
Aggravated breach of trust
Second big accusation, that of “aggravated breach of trust”. It is worth to Carlos Ghosn to be charged again in Japan since January 10, 2019. Japanese prosecutors accuse him of having tried to cover by Nissan "losses on personal investments", at the time of the financial crisis d 'October 2008, for amounts reaching 14 million euros. Told him that there was no crime because he took over the contracts in his name without pecuniary damage for Nissan.
However, Carlos Ghosn has, at the same time, asked a guarantor to get out of this bad patch: the Saudi billionaire Khaled Juffali. According to Japanese investigators, the latter was rewarded with plump sums from the "CEO reserve" of Nissan.
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Also in connection with this accusation of “breach of trust”, Carlos Ghosn was also charged on April 22 for transfers of money from Nissan to a distributor of the automaker's vehicles in Oman. A total of $ 5 million was used for the personal benefit of Carlos Ghosn, according to the prosecutor's office. They were allegedly used to buy a yacht and to invest in a fund controlled by her son Anthony in the United States, Shogun Investments LLC. Renault has forwarded similar items to justice, relating to several million euros in suspicious payments.
A procedure in France for the evening at Versailles
In France, on March 11, the Nanterre public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into the financial conditions under which the birthday of Carlos Ghosn's wife, Carole, was organized, as well as their marriage at the Palace of Versailles in October 2016.
Everything started with a report from Renault in February 2019. The group noted that “a consideration of 50,000 euros, as part of a sponsorship agreement signed with the Palace of Versailles, had been allocated for personal benefit from Mr. Ghosn. "
Wednesday, during his press conference, Carlos Ghosn assured to have paid all the expenses of this evening. Only the room was loaned to him by the castle by virtue of an exchange of good procedures, the automobile group having previously sponsored for a million euros the repair of the "Peace Salon".
Another evening at Versailles, organized on March 9, 2014, is accused of Carlos Ghosn. It celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Renault-Nissan alliance and coincided with its own anniversary. Wednesday, he defended this choice, arguing that foreigners "are amazed by Versailles", while ensuring to have indeed "delivered a business speech".
VIDEO. Carlos Ghosn explains his evening at the Palace of Versailles
Suspicions… but without a judicial inquiry
Other cases are worth Carlos Ghosn to be suspected, even if he is not prosecuted for these facts. He would have notably used Nissan's funds to pay his sister for a fictitious consultant's job, with sums amounting to $ 755,000 from 2003 to 2016. He would also have benefited personally from villas in Rio or in Lebanon , paid by Nissan.
What is the risk for his escape?
Another case is added to these accusations. By fleeing to Japan, Carlos Ghosn angered Japanese justice. An international arrest warrant has also been issued against him by Interpol.
However, if the former boss with triple Lebanese-Brazilian-French nationality was banned on Thursday from leaving Lebanese territory, he is very unlikely to be extradited to Japan. Indeed, Lebanese law prohibits the extradition of any Lebanese citizen to a third country to be tried there.
